There are so many things running through your mind: goals, strategy, how to organize your processes and increase revenue, how to cut potential losses. Although there is no one universal “right” way to own a small business, there are definitely some great examples out there that will inspire you. Let’s look at a few success stories in the world of small companies.

• What are the types of small businesses?
• 15 examples of small businesses
• How to choose a small enterprise to run?
• How to start a small business?
• Small company, great expectations

What are the types of small businesses?

A small business is a pretty general term – there are so many structures, colors, and flavors to them. The most popular kinds, however, are the following:

• Sole proprietorships are an example of ordinary small businesses. They are owned by single individuals who are liable for all business transactions, debts, and lawsuits, unlike LLCs, which protect owners from some legal complications;
• Partnerships, also one of the most popular types of small businesses, are run by two or more individuals who are liable for the financial and legal aspects of all their business operations;
• Incorporated companies: this example is registered with a state to become separate legal entities, independent from its owners and shareholders. This is a significant legal distinction since, in the eyes of the law, an incorporated corporation practically becomes a different “person”. Limited liability is provided to the owners of corporations, and in the event of an owner’s passing, the corporation continues to exist.

15 examples of small businesses

After a thorough analysis of the popular fields in small business, we have come up with a few examples of small businesses for you:

Professional, scientific, and technical services

What is it? This sector includes a great variety of services. Scientists, lawyers, engineers, and a good number of people with STEM degrees reside within this industry. It also includes advertising, specialized design services, tax preparation, and more.
Why is this field popular? The popularity of this sector is directly related to the number of essential industries and niches it encompasses. Scientists and labs are greatly sponsored by the government and private organizations, ensuring that there are workspaces within several scientific fields. The crimes always get committed, and tax forms always get issued, hence the constant need for lawyers and tax advisers. Industries keep growing and require engineers to optimize processes and increase gains, and everything that has been made needs a design, hence the need for specialized design services.
How do you start? Once you have a specialization within one of the niches in this sector, you need to find a good location, one of the larger cities, preferably. If you are currently working for a university, research how much time your contract allows you to spend on your personal business, and whether this branching out will cause a conflict of interest in this small firm example.

Construction

What is it? New construction, additions, alterations, maintenance, and repairs are all included in the construction sector. The companies in this field are typically hired to perform work on a contract: buildings, bridges, or new highways—all these fields are potential niches for your small firm.
Why is this field popular? The constant growth of the human population, as well as the natural decay of existing structures, ensures the need for more workers. This is one of the most common small businesses that requires a large number of people to complete the job, so it has a large number of workplaces.
How do you start? Decide on your specialty: are you better at transporting construction materials, doing the facades, or industrials? Residential, commercial, or both? Research the areas that are most in need of your services. Get familiar with the local establishments, and check whether there are any professional communities that are helping beginners. Based on the location and state, obtain the required licenses and permits you need, gather the funds, and make sure you are prepared to handle the contracts as a local small business.

Real estate & rental and leasing

What is it? This field is all about renting and leasing assets, both tangible and intangible. That means not only property rent and leasing are included, but also patents and trademarks (but not copyrights). This field also includes handling other people’s rent, such as real estate agencies that represent both property owners and buyers. This means: equity real estate investment trusts, rental and leasing of motor vehicles, computers, and consumer goods.
Why is this field popular? Leasing and renting property is always in high demand. You may only want a jetski for the weekend by the lake; a lot of things are only needed for a short period of time, especially in tourist areas. And trademarks are included in almost every major brand out there, coming and going as the companies are passed on or sold.
How do you start? Identify your area of expertise, perform the research, and acquire something you believe will sell well. You will spend a lot of time communicating with your customers; this business is all about being good with people. Estimate the budgets: how big will your sales team be, how much will you need to invest in your project, and how much will a professional phone system cost?

Administrative, support, and waste management

What is it? This industry sector includes large and small companies that support other establishments. This could be anything from security to HR services. Waste disposal, solicitation, office administration, paperwork, cleaning, and surveillance are all included in the Administrative, Support, and Waste Management sector.
Why is this field popular? What franchise doesn’t have paperwork? How quickly will an office become a health hazard without cleaning? Where will the waste from your community go if no one collects it? How does a store function without surveillance? These are just a few rhetorical questions that emphasize the important role administrative, support, and waste management companies play in our society.
How do you start? Choose the specialty you feel comfortable with for this common type of small business and decide whether you can handle it on your own or whether you need a team. Solopreneurship is easier to manage, but multiple people will bring in more profit. Figure out the state and city/town where you would like to become a small business entrepreneur. Larger cities will always have more need for cleaning services than small towns. Take into consideration the licenses and their costs, as well as equipment and tax.

Transportation and warehousing

What is it? The transportation and warehousing sector is all about equipment and support activities related to the modes of transportation by air, rail, water, road, and pipelines. Warehouses are included, as they are considered to be transportation-related facilities.
Why is this field popular? The travel industry is booming once again due to both internal and external tourism. And not just travel—the moving and storage services for all the families and college students, cargo, cruises—they make up so much of American society that it would be impossible to imagine life without them. Regardless of the economic situation, there will always be a need to transport materials or people across the country.
How do you start? Uber was a small transportation startup at some point. It was so successful because it identified a need and managed to successfully fulfill it. Maersk started out as a small family business, and now it is one of the largest and most successful cargo companies in the world. Although your goals may not be as ambitious, looking at how they found their niches may be good inspiration for a local business.

Retail trade

What is it? Store and nonstore retailers make up the most popular small businesses in the retail trade sector. The store retailers operate at fixed locations, like the bike shop down the block, while the nonstore retailers sell their goods via online or portable methods, such as door-to-door solicitation or e-commerce. Nonstore retail also includes vending machine distribution.
Why is this field popular? This is one of the oldest business types if you are interested in being a small business entrepreneur. Selling and reselling goods is highly valued in today’s consumer society, and while many trends come and go, this segment is not going away anytime soon.
How do you start? Identifying the needs of your community is a good start to launching a small business. Take a few days for observation: do you see people who jog at the park looking around in search of where they can buy a water bottle? Is the nearest bike shop miles and miles away? Are there always hungry college students in your town who struggle to get food after everything is closed? After that, all you need to do is make a strategy and launch.

Health care and social assistance

What is it? The health care and social assistance industry includes a diverse range of options for popular small businesses from test centers to private clinics. If you have a medical degree, this small business fits you perfectly. This field is people-intensive and high-risk, but it also holds one of the most important roles in society.
Why is this field popular? People will always need health care, and now there is a virtual niche in the field. Accessibility, low costs, and high demand all make virtual medicine a steady income and a prospective field in the industry. Social assistance is a slightly different example of a business in the field, focusing on the caretaking part of healthcare. Whatever your choice is, chances are there will be demand.
How do you start? You would usually be starting with a medical degree, or at least with getting familiar with the medical field if you have medical professionals on your team. If the market location you are about to enter is saturated already, it’s possible that you’ll have to work significantly harder to gain a foothold. Once you do, however, you will have a chance to build a loyal customer base.

Arts, entertainment, and recreation

What is it? A diverse variety of enterprises that manage facilities or provide services to cater to their consumers’ diverse cultural, entertainment, and recreational interests. Performing arts, education, gambling, museums, and spectator sports are all mixed within this sector. Anything that people enjoy for entertainment is a good description: musicians, actors, fitness trainers, amusement attendants, etc.
Why is this field popular? Watching a movie after work, going to a concert with your friends, taking your family to a museum. It is tough to find an American who does not occasionally enjoy at least one of these things. The expression “bread and circuses” may have originated in the Roman Empire, but the concept is as old as humanity, and it is not going anywhere.
How do you start? Netflix was started by an idea to rent DVDs by mail, which turned out to be a success that shaped the movie industry we know today. A unique sample, sure, but there are smaller businesses in the entertainment industry that are also doing well. The key to becoming this small business owner is doing what you love and finding a way to market it to the right audience via research.

Accommodation and food services

What is it? Anything that includes lodging and/or food for immediate consumption is part of this small business example. Fast food, restaurants, hotels, motels, and all their personnel. Food and lodging are often together, thus they are often discussed as one segment.
Why is this field popular? Without accommodation and food services, tourism would cease to exist, and leaving your house would become far less enjoyable. No Starbucks, no Wendy’s, Waffle House gone. Visiting new locations and small business enterprises while eating new foods is one of the most joyous activities humans take part in.
How do you start? Bed and breakfast, a cute cafe, catering, or hostel business owner: you will need to make your choice. The good thing is that research will be especially fun within this segment: you can go and scout your competitors’ locations. Try their food, look at their places, and meet new people. Then take account of all the things you like about these small businesses in the USA and come up with a plan of your own. Gather resources, set deadlines, and start working towards your dream.

Finance and insurance

What is it? Financial intermediation via asset sales and acquisitions, fee collection, insurance premiums, or annuity considerations and their investment. Financial managers, chief executives, personal finance advisers, analysts—all those people and many others make up the foundation of the financial segment.
Why is this field popular? Finance is involved in everything today, and insurance is just another financial tool. The financial system is crucial to the economy. It facilitates the flow of funds between savers and borrowers, ensuring that financial resources are allocated properly to promote economic growth and development. Medical, construction, transportation: it does not matter which industry you name, finances and insurance are a part of it.
How do you start? This is a popular small business that requires a university degree at the higher levels, especially if you are planning to go into banking. Bachelor’s degrees should be enough for most positions, though. If you want to start a small firm in this field, you will absolutely need experience and legal assistance. Working with money implies great responsibilities, and you will need to make sure you are thoroughly prepared prior to offering your services.

Educational services

What is it? Profit and nonprofit schools, courses, training centers, and universities —all of these are included in the examples of a small company for this segment. Organizations that have teaching and education as their goal could be online, in person, pre-recorded, on TV, etc.
Why is this field popular? Education shapes society, allows you to switch fields and obtain higher qualifications, and improves a country’s quality of life. We start learning from the day we are born, and many continue until their dying day. Just the global EdTech market is projected to grow annually by 19.9% from 2021 to 2028, showing the increasing interest and investment in the segment.
How do you start? This is a lucrative small business field. Would you like to work on upgrading a school’s technology, do you want to start online courses, or are you after the ambitious goal of creating an education center? Narrowing it down will provide you with a clearer business plan. Some fields will demand a license; others, like some online courses, will not. Online courses are the easier way to start, and they require fewer financial investments.

Wholesale trade

What is it? Wholesale trade, as one of the examples of a local business or a larger enterprise, is all about selling and reselling raw and unprocessed products in bulk, such as in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and some information companies, like publishing. This field also includes transportation, buying, scientific input, moving, and more.
Why is this field popular? Raw materials are in demand, be it recycled plastic that can be used to create new items or clay. The wholesale trade is the link between manufacturers and retailers. Wholesale traders have a lot of influence on market pricing and planning.
How do you start? You will need to know what you are buying and selling to grow your small business. Ideally, it will have to be something that is not yet on the market but will be in high demand. Check if you have any special connections or if there is something only you can deliver to your community. Or do you simply want to be on the scientific side of it, probing the materials? Once you’ve got your place in the wholesale trade chain, focus on the equipment you will need so you can start offering your services in this small enterprise example.

Manufacturing

What is it? This is the next step after the wholesale trade segment. The manufacturing sector is just that: materials, substances, or components are mechanically, physically, or chemically transformed into new products. The scale of the facility varies: a home, a factory, a mill.
Why is this field popular? Quality products are a must for a functional society. Even if it is not about creating original products, taking and fulfilling orders from other companies is also a popular option. Manufacturing is a crucial component of the American economy since almost all the items in use have been manufactured by someone.
How do you start? This is typically something that you have already done if you are planning to start a common small business in this segment. You could also get a loan and purchase a local business from someone else. If you are looking for a way to have everything ready in a shorter period of time, it might be an exciting journey. But before you go all out and buy a mill in New Zealand, make sure you have all the information you can about it to avoid problems.

Information

What is it? Small companies in this field are made up of information processing services, producing and sharing information and cultural elements, as well as providing the means to transmit or distribute these products. This field includes customer service representatives, telecommunications equipment installers, and repairers (with the exception of line installation). This segment is mostly dominated by private industries, but local, state, and federal governments are also involved.
Why is this field popular? There is just so much data. Information keeps flowing as the internet grows, and there is a constant need for more people to manage it. There is also a need for operators who can take care of the equipment.
How do you start? You will require a solid background in this popular business industry. There are many online courses available; some are free, but it is critical that they are up-to-date and taught by professionals, as competence will be essential. Finding clientele should be rather simple due to the demand, but retaining it and keeping everything in check will be a more challenging task that will demand time and stress management.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting

What is it? Hunting and gathering, in essence. This small business sector focuses on cultivating crops, rearing animals, harvesting timber, and capturing fish and other lifeforms from a farm, ranch, or their natural environments. If you own a greenhouse, a hatchery, an orchard, or a nursery, you are a part of this segment. Truck and tractor drivers, farmworkers, and logging equipment workers would also be included.
Why is this field popular? This is one of humanity’s most important fields, as well as one of its oldest. Producing food is not an option, it is an absolute necessity. That is why, for as long as this country exists, there will always be jobs in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting segment.
How do you start? This is a high-risk and high-responsibility field; going into it will take a lot of effort and will definitely pay off once everything works out. Assessing potential risks and necessary investments is a good place to start, and you can certainly start small. You will need to get a variety of licenses and pass a few checks before you are allowed to grow beyond the level of an ordinary small business.

How to choose a small enterprise to run?

Now that we have looked at a few potential small business examples, we should talk about your own. Only something that comes from your heart and is truly unique to you will provide you and the world with a product that will last. Creating a small business enterprise is not just about monetary gain or ambitions; it is about giving birth to something new that will have the power to impact the lives and society it interacts with.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself if you are set on becoming a business owner:

1. Have you assessed your skills and resources?
2. Do you have a clear vision of your product, do you absolutely love it?
3. Does your vision match the practical reality given your resources?
4. Do you have a financial plan and entrepreneurial funding?
5. Have you analyzed the market, is there a demand for your services?
6. Do you have a clear marketing strategy?
7. Will your business structure be able to handle a large volume of clients and orders?
8. Do you have a few backup plans to keep going and growing?

How to start a small business?

The algorithm of action will be different depending on the small business idea you go with, but some steps will be universal:

1. Ensure that your organization falls within your area of expertise. That way, you will not have to frantically search for answers when it comes to running the firm;
2. Get the support you need. Having the people who support you and the finances to rely on can make or break your small organization. It is always better to have a backup;
3. Set the expectations. You will not reach your goal if you do not know what it is. Define the desired outcome, preferably with clear and precise KPIs;
4. Do the SWOT analysis. While making your business plan, write out and define the Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats for your SMB;
5. Software. Choose the software. Will your team work in the Google ecosystem, or do you have a different cloud service in mind? How will you keep track of tasks, budgets, and KPIs? How will you handle professional communication, so you can have proper work hours, voicemail, an auto attendant, etc?
6. Workspace. Set up a workspace where you will not be disturbed while you are taking care of your small business startup. It can be a room, an office space, or a coffee table in your garden—as long as you get things done with minimal interruption;
7. Legal aspects. One of the most important things to do for any company is to ensure that you are operating within the legal frame, that all fees and taxes are paid, and that in no way you are violating the law.

Small company, great expectations

There’s a common theme in each small company example: you are selling something you have expertise in. It does not matter what the field is as much as the passion, planning, and execution. The top smb’s in all fields are making excellent revenues, so do not choose based on the numbers, start with what you love.
It will take hard work and long nights. You might have to wait a year or two before you reach stability with any of the examples of small business, but that is completely natural. The secret behind most success stories is motivation and persistence. You have what it takes, now it’s time to start your journey and make a difference with your entrepreneurship.

The post 15 Small Business Examples: Most Popular Ways to be a Successful Entrepreneur first appeared on MightyCall.

Discover 15 SaaS tools that will enhance your operations while keeping finances in check.

Navigate:

• What are SaaS tools?
• Freemium and cost-effective SaaS tools for small business

What are SaaS tools?

SaaS stands for ‘Software as a Service’. It is a model of providing various services, apps, and tools in the Cloud, without the need to download software to your computer. For example, whenever you register to a service and start using it right away in the web browser, you’re using SaaS technology.

The most populous market for SaaS tools is engineering, marketing, and business operations, but the SaaS development model is seeing rocketing growth across all industries. According to Blissfully’s 2019 SaaS Trends Report, in 2018 U.S. small businesses (0-50 employees) spent over $20k on paid SaaS subscriptions. That’s double the spending amount from 2016.

Freemium and cost-effective SaaS tools for small business

The above expenses may seem overwhelming if you’re just starting out, own a home business, or are a solopreneur. If you don’t want to be swallowed up by competitors, though, you’ll need to learn not to cut down, but save up: in other words, find the right technology that will both do the job and save you money. Finding the right balance is key – and completely possible with these fresh and classic, freemium and low-cost tools for small business and startups.

1. MightyCall: on-the-go communication across all devices and platforms

Screenshot via  MightyCall

As of 2018, three out of four U.S. adults live in wireless-only households.  Come to think of it, that’s no surprise in an age when life itself is mobile-first. Mobile devices have also transformed business communication: Voice over IP (VoIP) technologies are fast replacing landlines in offices, hospitals, call centers, etc.

MightyCall is a small business-first VoIP phone system that offers local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, the ability to port in your existing virtual number for a better deal, plus over 35 features like these:

• Business caller ID for a professional image wherever you go
• Unlimited extensions to keep customers connected with your team
• Call flows and call menus for organizing incoming calls by user, working hours, availability status, etc.
• Custom voicemail greetings and voice prompts
• Activity queues that display all activities that need action (e.g. missed calls, SMS, voicemail, messages from integrated social media and web widgets)
• Call history and analytics to help your business gain leads
• Call recording to gather important customer feedback
• Call back and click-to-call widgets that engage callers via your website
• Integration with softphones and IP desk phones so you can keep talking the way you’re used to
• The Mighty Call mobile app so you can have the most useful MightyCall features on the go
• And more

Although MightyCall doesn’t offer a free lifetime plan, using a VoIP phone system is proven to save up to 60% on phone bill costs – so it’s still a terrific deal for your team. Moreover, you get to test-drive the full-feature product with a free trial and get special deals on both MightyCall plans.

2. Wave—accounting for all occasions

Even amongst tight SaaS competition, Wave Financial is a classic that makes nearly every free SaaS tools list – and for good reason. The product really stands out thanks to its unlimited service model.

While freemium accounting tools like Zoho Invoicing and Freshbooks may have advanced business features (on their paid plans) that Wave lacks, the latter is still a beloved choice for small businesses.

That said, Wave’s Cloud financial service isn’t exactly freemium: it’s completely free. The financial tool offers free accounting, invoicing, payroll, receipts, tax calculations, deductions, and more. In short, it’s the no strings attached SaaS accounting tool every small business should start out with.

3. Sumo—superb customer engagement

Cart abandonment during online shopping is one of the greatest challenges online store owners experience. With a rocketing 76% of online carts being abandoned, this invisible culprit is responsible for $4.6 trillion in lost e-commerce sales annually.

Sumo is a freemium ecommerce tool created to fight such issues: business owners can set up the Sumo tools on their website to start reducing cart abandonment rates in real time. Sumo shows you ROI from every single sale or subscriber, to make sure you see what they’re doing for you.

Sumo’s WordPress plugin is very popular, but it integrates just as well with other web and ecommerce services. The free plan promises to drive up to $500 in extra monthly revenue for your online store.

If you like the free version, you can switch anytime to the $39/month PRO plan to go for unlimited benefits.

4. SendinBlue e-mail automation

Newsletters are a huge thing. According to WBR Digital, 80% of retail professionals say it’s their number one customer retention tool. Further, email marketing statistics show that for each $1 spent on email campaigns, business owners get a ROI of $44.

For the same reasons however, email campaigns can swallow up a ton of time – from crafting the right content to making the design modern and attractive enough to encourage click- through rates, email marketing seems like an art in itself.

SendinBlue relates to those struggles and offers business owners simple SaaS marketing. With designer newsletter templates for all business occasions, automation workflow (campaigns based on clicks, purchase data, open rates, website visits, etc.), a landing page editor, SMS marketing (a tool that’s not readily available with competitors), and detailed reports, SendinBlue is the fresh alternative to MailChimp (which is still a classic thanks to its countless integrations).

5. SurveySparrow—the new word in customer feedback

SurveyMonkey, move over! Founded just over two years ago, SurveySparrow makes sending surveys to customers and employees nothing short of a joy.

The SurveySparrow startup story reflects a personal mission to revolutionize boring old surveys with an interactive/chat-like experience plus develop mobile-first surveys, prioritize mailing scheduling options and add simple social sharing. SurveySparrow’s great UI allows users with no tech knowledge to craft awesomely-designed surveys that customers actually love to engage with, helping you nail that sought-after feedback and gain real interaction with your audience.

You can try the free Basic plan (includes 100 responses per month, 10 questions per survey, advanced reports filters, and more) to get the hang of the process and upgrade when necessary.

6. Cyfe—business data organization

Wouldn’t it be terrific to monitor all your business data from various tools and apps on one or two dashboards? We’re talking all kinds of marketing, sales, SEO, CRM, and organizational channels you might be already using made visible in one Cloud service, with the ability to share the dashboards anytime with your team!

The Cyfe free plan gifts you with two fully functional dashboards that you can use to organize all your business data. The service integrates lots of services and is a great deal even with the free plan. If you need more dashboards (for example, your business grows, and you feel the need to organize data by departments) you can update your plan accordingly.

9. SEO Review Tools—optimized search engine ranking

Another important thing to consider is search engine optimization or SEO. If you plan to drive traffic via a blog or written content, you’ll appreciate the free Keyword Research Tool, Content Idea Generator, and SEO Writing Assistant from SEO Review Tools.

A step beyond that, SEO Review Tools Service also helps you analyze backlinks, domain authority, and the Google Rankings of your website. And those are just some of the things you can do to improve ranking through this freemium SEO tool. The whole list numbers 37 real-time SEO tools for your business, both free and paid.

10. Canva—everyone’s favorite design tool

Every business owner who’s got a website, online store, or business social media accounts has once racked their brains over design. Just how do you match all those stunning banners, promo posts, branding materials, etc. that competitors seem to be flashing at you, without crazy investment in time or money?

That’s how it was before Canva jumped onboard the freemium tools arena. Nowadays, Canva is the most user-friendly design tool imaginable. With its help, anyone can design their own social media posts, web banners, and you name it promotional materials without leaving the web browser.

Canva is one of the great freemium Cloud tools out there – a small catch to the free version is the smaller (but still impressive) library of stock images at your disposal.

11. Buffer—social media made simple

If you have a business social media account, you’ve no doubt noticed that engagement times vary by hour and day. Such observations are baked by stats: for example, the best time for B2B tweets is around 3 p.m. on weekdays while B2C posts do well during commute hours (especially Monday mornings).

Now that’s great, but you have your own workday to worry about, right? In this case, using SaaS tools to schedule social media posts for the entire day (or week) ahead sounds like a life-saver.

Buffer is a freemium social media tool that lets you publish to different social platforms without the hassle of doing it manually at different times throughout the day. You can let this free social media scheduling app automatically select the peak engagement times of day for you or choose your own.

12. HubSpot Suite CRM

Customer Relationship Management or CRM is an abbreviation seen all over the internet these days. On a basic level, Cloud CRM solutions let you organize your business contacts into one place and from there manage all interaction and communication, providing you with analytics on that communication process. On a deeper level, CRM stands for a very wide infrastructure of tools that encompass sales, analytics, customer service and marketing.

HubSpot CRM like other free CRM tools, provides a basic set of features in its free version. All of these features are centered around organizing, sorting through, and quickly communicating with your business contacts imported from various sources. This also includes analytics.

To get core benefits though, you will eventually want to look into the paid HubSpot tools – such as the Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub services (individually or included in the Growth Suite). These are growth-centered services specifically for growing businesses.

HubSpot CRM is free, while Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub are available starting at $50/month.

13. Trello—the fun part of productivity

Inspired by the legendary Kanban productivity boards developed by Toyota, Trello takes the idea and brings it into the Cloud and mobile apps, making it easy to share project boards with everyone on your team, wherever they are.

With Trello, you have an online project board with visually appealing lists that you can add up on the board. Each list can be a category, a step in a workflow, a to-do list, a bucket list, etc.  – it’s up to you. To these lists, you then add any number of cards where you write down the specific tasks needed to get the job done.

The most convenient part is that these lists and cards are visible to your whole team, and everyone can see who’s working on what! Result: less time spent on email, fewer meetings and increased individual productivity.

Trello has a great free plan that will suit most small business owners.

14. Zapier—automate tasks for peace of mind

All of the above freemium SaaS tools are designed for one purpose: making your life as a startup or small business easier. But sometimes, integrating all the technologies and having to manually do repetitive tasks with different tools is enough to kill hours on end.

That’s where Zapier steps in (ta-da)! Zapier is a SaaS automation tool that automates a chain of actions that you usually do manually in different apps. Instead of doing actions A+B manually, you can set up what’s called a “Zap” to automatically perform action B for every trigger A.

Let’s say you want to automate content sharing. Instead of manually copying and pasting post URLs into your Buffer queue or social media pages, set up a Zap to automatically share posts to any (or all) of your social media accounts via RSS feed.

Here are just a few other Zaps to mention: add transactions in Wave for new Stripe or Square sales; move MightyCall call history and client info to your CRM platform, Google Sheets or Slack; create SendinBlue/MailChimp subscribers from new Google Contacts; send automatic welcome letters to new subscribers; share new Shopify products with image tweets; add new Shopify orders to Salesforce as leads; and much more.

Check it out: MightyCall now integrates with Zapier

The free plan lets you automate up to 5 two-step Zaps (multi-step zaps are a premium feature) which for a small business is already a great time-saver.

15. eyezon—revolutionize your online live shopping experience

eyezon is a cutting-edge SaaS platform designed to transform your online shopping experience by connecting users with sales representatives and providing a live outlook into your business.

eyezon offers a suite of features, including customizable live shopping, live showrooms, live insights, ads, and streamerce with custom widgets tailored to various brands across all industries. By facilitating real-time interactions between customers and sales representatives, eyezon allows businesses to deliver personalized, interactive experiences that cater to individual needs and preferences.

Seamlessly integrating with popular content management systems and video hosting platforms, eyezon caters to businesses of all sizes. The platform offers a free plan that provides essential tools for enhancing your online shopping experience.

For businesses looking to maximize their online live shopping capabilities and unlock additional features, eyezon offers custom pricing plans. This comprehensive solution empowers businesses to revolutionize their customer engagement by providing an unparalleled online shopping experience tailored to the modern consumer.

Unlocking Potential with SaaS Products: Tailored Solutions for Small Business Success

SaaS products, specifically designed as small business SaaS, demonstrate that innovation need not be expensive, and ‘affordable’ doesn’t mean ‘inferior quality’. To choose the best SaaS for small business, collaborate with your business partners and team to identify your technology needs and priorities, and address the gaps in marketing, sales, and other areas.

The post 15 Best SaaS Tools Guaranteed to Rock Your Business first appeared on MightyCall.

Before we go on, the first thing to look for isn’t software, it’s what small businesses actually need.

What are Small Business Needs?

We’re focusing on a lot of new digital tech tools in this post, but don’t get it twisted—the needs of small businesses have been the same since time immemorial. It doesn’t matter what year, decade, or century you are in, there are a few things you have to do in order to be successful, aside from finding the best small business software.

1. Organization

Being properly organized means checking a lot of boxes—from time management to getting your paperwork where it needs to be to scheduling your employees correctly—but those boxes have got to be checked if you are going to have success when running your small business. And don’t you fret- we have plenty of suggestions for you on that front below.

2. Customer satisfaction

Likewise, garnering customer satisfaction has also always been key, whether it’s the Middle Ages and you’re hawking your wares or you’re trying to make posts on Facebook. If it’s 1206 AD and you’re trying to get people in town to buy your soup but they’ve heard bad things, they aren’t going to eat. It’s the same nowadays- which means controlling the narrative and getting your POV out there is key to being able to make it. The best defense is a good offense, after all-and so it goes for the armor which can provide protection for your small business.

3. Promotion

Self-promotion means getting your name out there, but having good feelings attached to that name is critical. As a small business, you will need to worry about promotion, not just marketing and PR. Promotion is also all the little things that make up the image of your business, even before a customer makes direct contact with it. Things that give the impetus to either deal with your business or go to a competitor.

So what are some small business software programs that can help with organization, customer satisfaction, and promotion? 

Best Business Software

MightyCall

MightyCall combines both organizational and customer service help into one. As a virtual phone system, MightyCall users can pick from two different plans: Business and Enterprise. Both plans come with at least two digital phone numbers, lite CRM (customer relationship management, for those not in the know) functionality, texting, auto attendants, and the ability to design your own call flow (which sends customers to where they need to go, be it either pre-recorded answers to the most common questions, a member of your sales team, or elsewhere).

There are a ton of other features, each giving you serious help in either helping your customers (including things like office hours and VIP caller options) or organizing your team. With the web panel, a central hub, you can leave messages for one another, edit your journal, and see all of the activity that has been going on. It’s one of the fully customizable best business softwares to run your business.

It’s also made for those who are on the go, with a highly functional mobile app and desktop-accessible webphone and softphones, meaning you can make calls from any internet-connected device, including tablets, phones (through which you can call over the app or over the phone itself), and computers.

Freshbooks

Screenshot via Freshbooks

Freshbooks helps you out with one of the things you will most want to have organized when running a small business: your bills and your money. It’s made for smaller companies who need help with invoicing, organizing your receipts and expenses, and want quicker ways of getting paid (and who doesn’t want to get paid quickly?). For smaller businesses which are a little bit larger and need to be concerned with things like this, they also have inventory tracking and provide for a space for your team to organize itself and dish out work more effectively.

The negatives for Freshbooks are relatively few. Their mobile app doesn’t do everything that their main site does; this admittedly can cause some difficulty if you’re on the go. The invoice options—though beautifully designed—can’t be customized all that much.

It’s also pretty inexpensive (which makes sense, as it’s targeted toward businesses on the smaller side of things). They have three price tiers: Lite ($4.50 a month), Plus ($7.50 a month), and Premium ($15.00). Nothing bank-breaking. They also have an option titled Select, for those who only want specific options (which means the price is calculated after you pick the features you’d like).

Xero

Screenshot via Xero

When it comes to managing your small business finances, efficiency and reliability are crucial. Xero, a cloud-based accounting software, offers a comprehensive solution tailored specifically for small business owners. With an intuitive interface and competitive pricing, Xero ensures your finances are in order, so you can focus on what matters most—growing your business.

Xero offers an extensive range of features designed to simplify your accounting, including seamless invoicing, easy expense tracking, and robust inventory management. Xero’s user-friendly dashboard gives you an instant overview of your financial health, while customizable reports allow you to dive deeper into your data when needed.

One of the standout features of Xero is its robust integration capabilities, making it easy to connect with over 800 popular business apps. From e-commerce platforms like Shopify to time tracking tools like TSheets, Xero’s seamless integrations enable you to streamline your workflow and manage all aspects of your business in one place.

Xero offers three flexible pricing plans to suit businesses of all sizes: Starter ($25 a month), Standard ($40 a month), and Premium ($54 a month). All plans come with a 30-day free trial, so you can explore Xero’s features and decide if it’s the right fit for your business.

Findymail

Screenshot via Findymail

In the modern business landscape, effective communication is crucial, and connecting with the right people can propel your business forward. Findymail, an innovative email finder software, offers a powerful solution for discovering professional email addresses with precision and ease. With a user-friendly interface and competitive pricing, Findymail empowers you to build lasting connections and drive business growth.

Findymail excels at simplifying the process of finding email addresses. By utilizing advanced search algorithms and data aggregation techniques, Findymail provides accurate results, even when minimal information is available. The software is perfect for sales, marketing, and networking efforts, ensuring you reach the right contacts every time.

They also offer sales pipeline management (helping you organize your sales process from start to finish), reporting and analytics (if you don’t think statistics are important to organization, think again), and email marketing (a big part of getting your name out there and controlling the narrative!). For efficient email marketing, you can integrate the third-party tool Findymail with their platform, which can help you find and verify the email addresses of your target audience.

Findymail offers flexible pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes: Basic ($49 a month), Standard ($99 a month), and Premium ($249 a month). Test the waters with first 10 free emails to experience Findymail’s capabilities firsthand.

ClickFunnels

Screenshot via ClickFunnels

Whereas our last option was more focused on organization, ClickFunnels is more focused on name recognition and customer satisfaction. The idea of ClickFunnels is to help small businesses direct (or “funnel”) customers to the place they should be. ClickFunnels provides you (the small business owner) with a bunch of templates you can select from. These templates are effectively packaged website pages which are laid out in a way that is most optimal for you, and they’re all customizable.

The traditional model goes something like this: you have them start on the main page, and offer them selections (like say, some price tiers). Maybe you direct them to one particular price tier, but that one isn’t their style- they want something with more features, for example. The “funnel” would give them the option for something like that (perhaps to direct them to a higher price plan). If you want them to buy products, you can edit the template to throw a sales option into the page (so that they can purchase your product right there without needing to go to another page). Basically, it gives you the option to make an easily customizable website that requires no IT guys or outside help. It also helps you contact customers through social media, through emails, texts, and other methods.

One of the negatives, however, is that it’s not the cheapest. It costs around $100 a month for one of their plans, and just less than three hundred dollars a month if you want nine website domain names and unlimited funnels (the plans are “Starter” and “Platinum,” respectively). If you want to go with them, you’ll probably end up loving it- but you’ll have to build your business around using it, and it won’t come cheap.

Google Workspace

Screenshot via Google Workspace

If you think you haven’t heard of Google Workspace, you might know it by its former name: G-Suite. Google Workspace is basically a platform that helps your team organize itself in a way that is most conducive to your business. It’s designed to be flexible, so it can be used for small businesses (they even have options for if you’re the only one in your own employ!) up to having over 300 people working with you.

Workspace allows you to combine Google business software applications with one another. So while you probably have a Gmail account, you likely haven’t been able to realize its full potential. With Workspace, you can- and you get access to the full range of other Google programs, like Forms, Sites, Currents, Keep, and tons more. Plus Workspace fully integrates all of them, so it’s not clunky and doesn’t make you do the work when trying to cross-use different programs.

It’s got three plans, ranging from $6 a month to $18 a month- so nothing that will set you back significantly. The different plans offer varying amounts of cloud storage, differing caps on participants for video meetings, and different levels of security and management controls.

The downsides vary depending on the kind of business you want to run; mainly, it’s that you’ll be totally reliant on Google, a gigantic company which probably won’t have a ton of time for your specific needs and can change its mind on a whim (and frequently does).

Keap

Screenshot via Keap

Keap is nominally a CRM company, but it goes beyond that by also offering automated sales and marketing. Like MightyCall, it’s focused on putting a premium on customization. Like other CRM platforms, it also can be integrated into common tools which your business will end up using, including being able to create invoices and managing appointments (there are over 230 integrations, so you’ll probably have all of your bases covered).

They also offer sales pipeline management (helping you to organize your sales process from start to finish), reporting and analytics (if you don’t think statistics are important to organization, think again), and email marketing (a big part of getting your name out there and controlling the narrative!).

Pricing depends on how many contacts you have, but there are effectively three different plans- Lite, Pro, and Max, ranging from $56 a month to $140 a month. For the number of features they have, it’s pretty useful.

Choosing the Best Software for Business

Ultimately, you should come up with your own perfect set of business software and programs that cover the needs of your company. It will take some time to adjust and try them, but in the end, you will have a smoothly working, optimized system. This article is just the first step in finding the perfect software for business.

The post Best Software for Businesses Small & Big first appeared on MightyCall.

So to see what it really takes to become an entrepreneur, we decided to go the practical way. With access to thousands of successful entrepreneurs, we here at MightyCall posed a question to our community: “What should people know before they start their business?”

Below is the list of the most important things to consider when starting a business. Based on the advice of real entrepreneurs, they are designed to give you the knowledge you need to start your business off on the right foot.

8 Things to Know About Starting a Business

1. Manage your expectations

No matter how good your idea is, not everything will go as perfectly as it does in your head. Your business is not going to change the world in a month, or even a year. It’s entirely possible that you won’t see a profit (considering the money invested) for the first three years.

No matter what happens, it you want your business to succeed, you need to keep an even head, and the easiest way to do that is to manage expectations.

Had a lackluster month? That’s normal.

Not gaining traction on social media? Keep going.

Mistakes and disappointments are “par for the course”, so stay strong and don’t get pessimistic if things aren’t going the way you want them to.

2. Consult as many professionals as you can

This is a 2-in-1 point.

• Firstly, get all the information you can about the field you’re about to enter. The best way to do that is to consult people in that industry, whether they’re soon to be your competition or not. Scout out every inch of their website; sign up for their newsletter; try your hardest to get them alone to pick their brain. Everything you learn will help prepare you for the journey.

• Secondly, there are some essential people you’ll need to help you along the way: lawyers and accountants. Their roles will fluctuate based on how well your business is doing and what stage it is in, but the knowledge they have is a gift.

Accountants will help you manage your money and budget effectively.

Lawyers will teach you the laws and regulations you’ll need to work in your sphere. Without consulting one of these, you’re only making your fight harder.

Don’t trust Google or an app with information as specialized as this, go straight to a professional.

3. Know your target customer and why they’ll buy your product

This is marketing 101, but nearly every entrepreneur we asked noted this. If you don’t know who is likely to buy your product, you’re setting sail without a rudder.

Knowing as specific a target group as possible will help you focus on the details that make your product stand out to that group.

Standing out is essential too. No matter what the reason, there needs to be one why that ideal customer will come to you instead of a competitor. It can’t just be about the price either, because that rarely is a successful long-term strategy.

Whether it’s something about how your product is made, who your workers are, or what your brand image is, you’ll need a strong idea of this before opening your doors.

4. Watch your money like a hawk

This may not be fun, and hopefully, you’ll have an accountant to help out here, but no matter what your financial situation is, you should know every financial aspect of your business to the cent.

If you want to properly utilize the limited funding you have—and it will be limited—you need to weigh the pros and cons of every business-altering decision. Is it better to splurge on rent to get a better location, or use part of that money to hire someone to make the best website possible? You’ll probably face a conundrum like this at least once a week and being on top of your books will help you maximize your money.

Additionally, knowing the full extent of your finances will help you live your life. Aside from the money you spend on your business, you’ll need money for food, rent/mortgage payments, and everything else in your personal life.

5. Be an expert in your sphere

Often, many entrepreneurs will tell you that they learned most of what they know from hands-on experience. If your business succeeds, you will too. However, today there is simply too much competition in nearly every market imaginable to go into something blind or under-informed.

You don’t need to know more than the entrenched competition—although you should know everything possible about them—but you need to know more than all of the other people trying to break into your industry. The more you know, the better chance you have at making the best product/service possible.

6. Know that your business can succeed

A few people noted the idea of a “test run.” While depending on the specifics of your business plan, a practical test run may not be fully possible, it’s a great way to get an idea of both your potential place in the market and how to improve your product.

A big part of the test run boils down to personal and financial security. It’s essentially knowing when it’s time to give up your day job and commit to your business without having your finances crumble to the ground. Whether you can sell your product on weekends, attend an important conference or secure funding to give you the time you need to get your company going, you need to have some peace of mind that what you’re doing can put enough money in your pockets to make it a career.

7. Spread word everywhere you go

I once talked to an entrepreneur who told me she met a sponsor for her product while waiting in line for coffee. In fact, you’ll often hear business owners talking about the power of networking, but too often we think of networking in terms of specialized  networking events, meet-ups, or contacting people online. All of that is good, but always keep the coffee story in mind. Complete strangers and “unexpected” circumstances are often decisive factors behind pivoting moments. Among the key things to consider when starting a business is using any opportunity to spread the word about it, always having a business card with your business phone number at hand, and paying particular attention to growing your contacts in the “real world”.

8. Be ready to work, work, and work

If you’re starting a business, you have to be passionate about whatever it is you’re doing, because you’ll spend more time working than anything else, especially in the early years.

According to most of the entrepreneurs who answered, 50-hour weeks are about the minimum that you’ll be pulling for the first few years.

The situation with your family, your friends, and your finances, to name just a few, will all have to inform your decision to start a business. Can you handle a 60-hour work week? Can you handle seeing your friends half as much as you’d like? Think about how you’ll manage these aspects beforehand, so neither your business nor your personal life gets ruined.

One of the Key Things to Know Before Starting a Business: Do Not Be Afraid

Not all of the things we discussed above are pleasant. Some aspects of running a business can seem scary or intimidating. But too many aspiring entrepreneurs are surprised when these things pop up, and above we’ve talked about them because you too will need to firmly answer them if your business is to survive.

We know all this sounds tough, but with MightyCall, you can focus on the key aspects of entrepreneurship and not be afraid of automating other tasks. Every aspect of our system  — from local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, to auto-attendant,  working hours vs. off-hours, CRM integration, and 30+ phone system features have been designed to help SMBs and their owners.

So go ahead and start your dream business- we’ve got your back at every step of the way.

The post 8 Things to Know Before Starting a Business first appeared on MightyCall.

In this article your will learn about the following:

• Your Business Scalability
• Investors Acquisition
• Partnerships
• Marketing
• Automated Solutions
• Stable Base
• The Team
• Education
• Scalable Business Examples
• Business Scalability Your Way

We, at MightyCall, believe in your success and our partnership with you, so we have laid out some of the advantages of having a scalable business as well as some practical ideas to get your small business on track to capitalize on the success you work so hard to achieve.

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
James Cash Penney, Founder of JCPenney

Whether you already own a company or are just taking the first steps towards the startup of your dream, you most likely imagine a bright future. Those who are ambitious always reach for the stars, and almost any small business idea can grow into a big enterprise.

Let’s be honest though, certain concepts have more capacity for scalability and expansion. Estimate your chances of real growth while considering the following points:

1. Your Business Scalability

Look at your current business. If the business is based on the owner’s particular skill or talent, then scaling is harder. It can only grow within the limits of the person’s capability and stamina.

Services provided by experts are almost non-scalable. The skill can be taught, but training and quality improvement take time and resources.

A truly scalable business is one that keeps low marginal costs while increasing revenue and works efficiently with less involvement from the business owner.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

MightyCall offers a number of modern solutions such as additional numbers, international numbers, call recording, voice to text and many others.

2. Investors Acquisition

For investors, the best small business ideas are scalable. Startups that have a high potential for growth obtain sponsors. The power players don’t trust mere talk. They believe in a valid business plan and financial model. High profits, minimum employees, and low support — these are crucial criteria of gaining investor’s attention.

How many locations can you market with the product? Investors bankroll startups that can go worldwide.

Match your business concept so that it is attractive to sponsors, and let us advise you on how to fund small business and find your investor.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

First of all, MightyCall helps lower your monthly phone bill so you don’t have to worry about running up your phone bill or calling long distances.

Additionally, with MightyCall you never have to worry about missing a call with call routing, after hours and call back widgets.

Finally, MightyCall offers international numbers so your business can grow with you.

3. Partnerships

Try to build a trusted business relationship with other market players.

Starting together as green implementers of small business ideas, you may share experience and discuss relevant issues. Collaboration and outsourcing reduce costs and make time for business development.

Even titans of the market chose to cooperate.

In 2006, Nike and Apple announced a partnership. Products of this union are fitness devices that connect to each other.

Making partners with existing market players is a forward-looking approach. It’s more advantageous than trying to outdistance them. In addition, franchising is one of the proven ways to scaling.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

MightyCall lets you add unlimited extensions to your plan so you can create as many partnerships as you want and not spend a dime more on your phone bill.

4. Marketing

Don’t delay an efficient marketing strategy if you want your small business to become a market leader.

A startup needs to be noticed immediately.

It’s not about local promos and advertising campaigns, which are useful to attract clients here and now, it is about joining a global market and getting access to business conferences as well as participating in workshops. These are places to network and make proper acquaintances in different fields.

Visit Meetup.com for relevant events near your location. LinkedIn is also a rich platform of information, communities and events.

Invest in your business brand. It is a valuable asset that demonstrates who you are, what your defining feature is. It should be simple but noticeable.

Marketing is a continual process. Keep updating your product line, so you can attract new clients and innovate. Ask customers for feedback and work with their replies. People buy from those they trust. Remember, “Without customers, you don’t have a business. You have a hobby.” (Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, Return on Customer).

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

It creates brand consistency by allowing you to always be available to your customers in whatever capacity you choose with personal greetings and hold music that helps your brand essence show.

Furthermore, it allows you to integrate your phone system with your Facebook and Twitter.

5. Automated Solutions

Appraise your business processes. There are always repeated steps and circular activities that can be automated. This frees time for focusing on business growth.

Business process management consultants say that reduction of staff work-hours is possible with proper automation. For example, instead of depending on manual data entry and setting appointments, invest in a system that simplifies the work process for employees. Newcomers can then be trained quickly and easily and join the workflow without delay.

Carla Martinez, former PM at HICKIES (sneakers store), shared a success story of scaling due to “automating everything”. HICKIES used Zapier’s software for workflow automation. Zapier transfers data between web apps automatically without additional coding. All processes became sped up.

A business that provides services is built on a number of experts, their workload, and efficiency. While considering the scaling of this kind of business, the entrepreneur should particularly focus on automation. It can result in additional revenue with fewer labor hours.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

Sometimes you need to be other places, doing other things. With MightyCall, you can easily reroute the numbers to an available team member or post after hours information. There’s a call queue feature as well as a VIP or block list feature all of which assist with automating the process and letting you decide what’s the most important thing for you to spend your time on in any given moment.

6. Stable Base

When a business is just launched it is the best time to invest in a solid foundation. Avoid cheap and quick software solutions; it’s not powerful enough for a growing entity.

The best software is one that is suited to a small business idea and can support it while growing, and maintain a huge enterprise while using regular updates.

Effective ERP system, e-commerce software, or communication platforms provide automation for most business processes. This is core for business scalability.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

It’s a customized communication solution for any size and type of business. A cloud-based unified platform that provides reliable management of calls, e-mails, social media, and to-do lists, while many useful features (conference calls, activity queue) can be used and added.

Another example is a Xero accounting system.

The vendor offers a free trial for small businesses. Cashflow, invoicing, payments, pay runs — up-to-date financial data that’s easy to compare, maintain and review is what’s essential for each growing company.

Outsourcing of the business support services to professionals is worthwhile. You can concentrate on the core business.

7. The Team

No doubt you’ve put your heart in the realization of your small business idea, but the truth is that a large business can be overwhelming for an owner. You can’t control everything and be everywhere. Scalable business means you are less involved in its processes; your role transforms more and more into high-level supervision.

Build a strong team to do what they do best. Hire the right people so you can manage a scaled business without making every slightest decision.

How MightyCall can help with this part of the process:

It’s a customized communication solution for any size and type of business. A cloud-based unified platform that provides reliable management of calls, e-mails, social media, and to-do lists, while many useful features (conference calls, activity queue) can be used and added.

Another example is a Xero accounting system.

The vendor offers a free trial for small businesses. Cashflow, invoicing, payments, pay runs — up-to-date financial data that’s easy to compare, maintain and review is what’s essential for each growing company.

Outsourcing of the business support services to professionals is worthwhile. You can concentrate on the core business.

The best company structure is streamlined so that trusted people have leading positions. As head of the company, a business owner needs to focus on their main strengths and landmark issues.

8. Education

Investing into your and your team’s education is one of the most powerful strategies a business owner can implement to become more scalable.

“The greatest asset of a company is its people.” – Jorge Paulo Lemann, a Brazilian billionaire investment banker and businessman

Developing this asset by sending your team members to various workshops, courses, or even universities, will eventually result a team of devoted specialists who will apply their new skills and knowledge directly to your business. Your team will feel like it is growing and developing in the direction that interests them, which will make them want to stay and do more for the company.

Scalable Business Examples

• Software — a classic and obvious sample of a scalable business. Once the product is ready, additional copies are released with much lower costs.
• E-commerce — any product or service provided via the internet is scalable. Information business, webinars, some kinds of consulting services can be delivered to the mass of people using only a Skype camera and microphone.
• Replicated products — are similar to the previous bullet. Today online stores compete favorably with shopping malls. Extension of delivery regions and product variety are just two points to consider for scaling opportunity.
• Social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. It seems like any new platform for sharing photos and impressions is welcomed. As recently as 2015, Periscope (a worldwide video-sharing source) and The League (a dating application for the “elite”) appeared.
• Downloads — music, books, games, applications are similar to a software’s scalability. The once launched app can be downloaded thousands of times a day.
• Line production and franchising — most processes of line commodity production are automated. The net cost is relatively low, but always keep an eye on the quality. Never let down clients’ expectations, it forms loyalty. When a person comes to McDonald’s, they want almost the same Big Mac they had the previous time. Ray Kroc set a standard of the smallest specifications including weight, sauce amount and fat content in every burger.

Business Scalability Your Way

On the path to scale your business, don’t let failures break you down. Instead, make it work for you and learn your lesson. Dream big and let no one unsettle you on your way and let MightyCall partner with you as you continue to grow your business.

The post 8 Tips to Make Your Business Scalable first appeared on MightyCall.

A car rental service business is one of the most challenging startups. But if you handle it well, you’ll make a mark.

Neil Abrams, president of Abrams Consulting Group Inc., says the car rental business is full of tough issues and great opportunities. And he’s confident that it’s a great way to make money even in times of economic insecurity.

Tourists and businesspeople prefer renting a car to using public transport or spending money on taxis. Locals also hire cars. For example, when their personal car is under repair or for weekends out of town.

We’ve collected a few tips and ideas to inspire you to take a chance:

• Business opportunities
• Legal issues
• Build your fleet
• Office & operations
• Marketing

Business opportunities

A car rental business usually starts in one of the following ways:

• A franchise of a successful rental company. You can read information about Budget, Sixt, Hertz etc. franchising on their websites.
• Dealership car rental. Still not very popular among clients or a profitable market share.
• A company with a clean slate. Launching a new rental company requires much effort, commercial sense, and a substantial financial cushion.

Benchmarking of chosen location shows market saturation and demand. Before starting up a car rental business, the entrepreneur should think of the level of service to offer.

• Who is the target audience? Tourists or perhaps legal entities? Currently, management of some companies finds more advantages in long-term car rental than maintaining its own fleet. It’s an opportunity for productive cooperation.
• What will form the fleet: regular or luxury cars? A posh car is a great expense, which can turn into a great profit. More people rent high-end cars nowadays. Instead of buying one of the extremely expensive cars, they’d rather rent one for a few days or a vacation.

Legal issues

Each state has its rules and authorizations for a new business. There is a list of licenses and permits by a state on the U.S. Small Business Administration site, so that every interested enthusiast can learn about launching any business.

Besides license, a company requires a fire department permit and to comply with zoning regulations.

The crucial point for the car rental business is insurance. It’s different from private vehicle insurance. Pay particular attention to the terms and conditions of an insurance contract. The fleet should be in good condition and have appropriate insurance cover.

Joining a franchise eliminates insurance red tape, as this issue is already resolved by the master company.

Build your fleet

The size of your primary fleet depends a lot on your financial base. You can try to purchase cars outright, though this is costly, or lease the vehicles. Look into small business support and financing programs. You’ll hardly obtain the attention of angel investors, as they prefer novelty business ideas, but you can count on banks and SBA loans for the startup.

Obviously, your fleet won’t be large at the very beginning. Jack Taylor, the founder of Enterprise rent-a-car, started his business with 7 cars in St. Louis, in 1957. Today the company boasts a fleet of 7,200 vehicles in 30 countries. An excellent example of proper scaling.

Keep in mind, your fleet makes your profits. Clients expect well-maintained vehicles. Consider a partnership with a local auto service.

Office & operations

Location

Office location is crucial. Locations near hotels, train stations and airports are perfect options. Consider also the most popular tourist trails. An impulse decision to rent a car comes to city visitors when they walk around exhausted.

Even if you are sure of your location’s security, it’s a good idea to set up alarm systems and cameras.

If your office works 24 hours, you will attract more clients. Lots of tourists and business people arrive late evening or at night. They will apply to those operators who are open. Your scheduled hours can be your competitive advantage.

Website

This is an absolute must. If a car rental business doesn’t have a site, potential customers won’t even consider it and will go with someone else. Customers are impatient and want to be able to make arrangements online when convenient for them. Make your website a comprehensive medium for proper online booking of a vehicle with automatic booking confirmations and email reminders. It should require some web-developer work, but it will be worth it.

Operations

Automatization of business processes increases efficiency, saves employees time and mitigates human error. CarsProSystems provides cutting-edge technology within the rental, leasing, and fleet business fields. This software manages all relevant business processes and has gained its goodwill rightfully.

For car rental services, MightyCall offers a solution in communications. No matter how carefully designed is your website, clients will call for booking. Millions of questions about rental office location, cars drop-off, insurance events — you phone won’t be silent.

Besides a customized business number with an extension for each employee, MightyCall offers such features of call settings:

• Working/non-working hours
• Call transfer to a queue
• Call forwarding
• Connect to a voicemail
• Connect a call to a single number
• Call recording

MightyCall also provides a Social Media Tracker to monitor messages and notifications on social media. Each mention is added to the activity dashboard for further attention.

Marketing

A car rental business is profitable when a car from a fleet is booked for 72% of the total time. For the sake of such readings, spare no expense and efforts on marketing. Explore a market in your location. What do you know about clients and rivals?

If you are an independent startup, you need to create your unique selling proposition. The car rental business is straightforward. So you can only emphasize your service quality — this stands high with clients. For example, car delivery to a place named by a client. People will pay a premium to save time and for convenience.

Register your business name and design a logo. The name has to work. It should be catchy, easy to say and spell. Use all available marketing platforms for making your name known: magazines, social media, brochures etc.

Search for marketing collaborations. Propose a deal to a hotel next door. Refer clients to each other. Prepare and distribute hand-outs about your partnership.

The way to success is continuous challenging of your business model. Is everything like it should be? What are your goals for the current year and the next 5 years? Are you working toward those goals? What is missing? The market is fluid — your business should be as well.

These guidelines should help you to mark main steps of car rental service launching. Remember “All things are difficult before they are easy.” Go for it!

The post How to Launch a Car Rental Service first appeared on MightyCall.

Based on incoming data, it doesn’t just ensure smooth flight but predicts how a business will react in complicated situations. A financial model also helps add “fuel” when necessary, so you don’t ever get stuck in the middle of nowhere. And it’s a business owner’s best radar for avoiding financial meteors.

In 2020, small business has already been bombarded with its share of trouble. The businesses that had the upper hand are the lucky ones who had a solid backup plan.

Ahead of 2021, everyone needs a good plan.

And when it comes to finance and sales, this can be done with a simple financial model for small business. Here’s how.

Navigate:

• What type of business needs a financial model
• What makes a good financial model, according to experts
• What are the popular types of financial models
• How to build a financial model with no experience

What type of business needs a financial model?

Every business that is serious about growing roots in the entrepreneurship world needs a financial model as its safety harness. It is particularly important for up and coming businesses, startups, and businesses facing economic challenges.

Patrick Bolanos, owner of Trailer King Builders and former CFO of a $20MM restaurant group, explains the priorities of a valid financial model:

Financial models are used to determine if what you are projecting will be profitable, [will have] a good return on investment, [and will show] how you intend to pay back investors. It will be the benchmark of the business.

Most often, financial modeling is used for:

• Starting a business with financial security
• Growing your business
• Raising capital
• Attracting investors
• Understanding which new projects to invest in

If you have a new business, you absolutely need a financial model. If you’re already past the launch process and are focusing on growth, you need one too. Going into business totally without a financial plan possible, but it’s like climbing a mountain without a safety harness. You’re basically leaving things up to luck.

What makes a good financial model, according to experts

Simplicity

For beginner entrepreneurs, a good model focuses on the foundational aspects without going into unnecessary detail. The details can be added later on when you’re familiar with the priorities of financial modeling.

Paw Vej, Country Manager and Team Leader at leading financial comparison website Financer.com, says that beginner entrepreneurs often skip the fundamental questions you should be asking while bringing too much attention to advanced aspects.

For first-time business owners, the most useful things to figure out are, ‘How will I bring in sales?’ [and]  ‘What are my costs?’. [On the other hand] equity, liabilities, short-term debt […] distract first-time business owners from the things that really make a difference, for example, sales, strategy and hiring.

Clear cashflows

A financial model’s primary aim is to demonstrate all finances in one place, allowing you to make assumptions and to highlight the “cause and effect” of your business journey.

Jacob Wedderburn-Day, Co-Founder / CEO of Stasher, notes the importance of clear cashflows

A good model gives you a birds-eye view of the company’s finance. This means you can see a breakdown of your income and a breakdown of your expenditure. Most importantly, you can see your cashflows. Cash is like blood to a business – if it stops flowing, or you lose too much, you will die.

You can make a basic budget by just remembering it’s about income vs expenditure. You can start adding simple assumptions like % above/below baseline income and add that in accordingly.

Flexibility

As you plan your model, remember that it’s not something you create once and sit on. A good financial model is all about flexibility.

Jason Cherubini, entrepreneur, academic, and co-founder/CFO of Dawn’s Light Media, points out the two aspects that all worthy financial models share:

[All good financial models] are flexible and able to be adjusted as new information comes in. This is especially true when financial models are used for startups or new products. The realities of business will rarely perfectly match with what has been originally modeled, so adjusting the model to better reflect reality is a must.

Usability

Financial modeling isn’t a theoretical study that you’re doing for investors or for your accountant. It should be focused on usability. In other words, it must be a blueprint you come back to again and again over the course of the years.

As Cherubini further comments:

Financial models are all about forecasting the future based on cause and effect relationships. The ‘effect’ we are most often interested in is the financial effects that will be shown on pro forma financial statements. And while much of the ‘cause’ of these financial effects will be the customers (and the revenue they generate), some of the costs will be driven by other factors.

[…] A financial model, like a budget is useless if it is not used for planning and then as an evaluation tool when looking at results. Part of the financial model’s development should be a plan on how and when it will be used and evaluated.

What are the most popular types of financial models?

Financial models come in many shapes and sizes. This may seem complicated if you are just learning about financial modeling but comes down to a few fundamental things.  Before getting started with a template or building one from scratch, it’s necessary to know which one is right for your type of business, experience, and goals.

Carol Tompkins, Business Development Consultant for online accounting software AccountsPortal.com, and Arnold Chapman, Founder of  ELD Focus fill us in on the 3 most popular types of financial models and their uses:

• The 3 Statement model  — the most basic type of financial modeling. In this model, the income, cash flow, and the balance sheet statements are all linked using accounting/Excel formulas, and assumptions are fed into the model to drive changes in it.
• The Discounted Cash Flow Model (DCF) —  based on the 3 statement model. It’s used to value your company according to the Net Present Value of your business’ future cash flow. It takes the cash flows from the 3-statement model and creates adjustments. The DCF, then, uses the XNPV function to subtract them back to your organization’s current Weighted Average Cost of Capital.
• The Comparable Company Analysis Model (CCA)  — helps identify your company’s value with the help of other businesses’ metrics. It acts under the presumption that the same companies have the same valuation multiples.

How to build a financial model with no experience

As a rule, financial models are generated as Excel tables. To build one from scratch, you’ll need programming and/or accounting knowledge. Since many entrepreneurs don’t possess the necessary skills to tackle Excel formulas, we suggest looking into options for creating a financial model without experience.

Option 1: Learn Excel basics

Most entrepreneurs suggest that you learn the basics of financial modeling sometime during the business journey. Today, this is easily available through online courses, such as Coursera.

Brack Nelson, Marketing Manager at Incrementors SEO Services, suggests learning basic Excel or brushing up your skills before building a model from scratch.

There are several [Excel] formulas and functions you must use such as Index, Match, Offset, Choose, Xnpv, Xirr, and If. By knowing how to use those 7 functions you’ll be off to a great start and you’ll see the usability and effectiveness of your models start to take off.
If you want to make sure you have the fundamentals down, take a Free Excel Crash Course to learn everything you need to know.

Even if you plan on using a financial model template or outsourcing the job, personal knowledge of how financial modeling works will help you tackle the job faster and gain more ROI.

Option 2: Use a financial model template

To build a model by yourself but skip the abracadabra of formulas, using a financial model template is your best bet. All you’ll need to do is input your financial data into the template. The financial documents will vary based on the type of chosen financial model type. Basically, you’ll need your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flows.

Resources:

• Find and download a free 3 Statement Financial Model Template here.
• If you’re looking for more templates, or those specifically tailored to your business, services like Slidebean Financial Model Templates offer templates for different businesses such as SaaS businesses, eCommerce, Marketplaces, Social media websites and apps, and more.

Option 3: Outsource the job

If you want all the benefits of a professional model or want to dig deeper than the 3 statement model but don’t have the time or option to learn, we suggest outsourcing the job. There are a lot of freelance financial accountants on Fiverr who’d be happy to help you out for a very reasonable price.

Even though you have to pay more for a personal helper than for a template, you get the benefits of a professional to create, explain, and work together with you on building the foundation of your business.

Summary:

• Startups and established businesses alike should have at least one financial model to rely on
• Your model should focus on cause/effect relationships in order to predict your business’s future
• If you don’t know where to start, try the classic 3-statement model. Download it online for free.
• Templates for different types of businesses are available online for a moderate price. They don’t require any programming or coding knowledge.
• If you need help, consult a finance professional or enroll in an online course. Remember that the time and effort you put in today will double your ROI tomorrow.

The post Jumpstart Guide to Financial Modeling – No Experience Needed first appeared on MightyCall.

Virtual phone systems are ironing out the differences and creating a more level playing field. They’re making sure that startups have access to a large global audience without having to spend a large amount of money.

By leveraging this technology, startups have the opportunity to cut through even the fiercest of competition and expand.

Want to know how?

In this article, let’s take a look at how startups can benefit from virtual phone systems. But let’s first begin with the basics.

What Are Virtual Phone Systems?

The concept of virtual phone systems is similar to that of hosted websites. It’s a number that is hosted on your behalf by another company in the Cloud. You don’t have to worry about setting up a complex phone system. Instead, it’s all done for you.

In plain terms, these systems are like remote servers, hosted by a company, to receive your calls. There are multiple systems out there, and the simplest ones will forward a call to a toll-free number that sounds professional.

From there, it gets routed to your personal number. You can also choose to set up additional extensions for your departments and employees.

Also known as VoIP or “Voice over Internet Protocol,” the system makes it very easy for you to receive and make international calls.

Let’s say, you get an incoming call from Singapore. You can receive the call on your American line and even forward it to an Australian line.

Busting Misconceptions Regarding VoIP

If you are new to the concept of VoIP, you may have certain questions about it. There are also multiple misconceptions floating around related to VoIP.

Let’s get them cleared up right away.

• Your virtual phone number is NOT fake. It’s legit and works on the Cloud. It gives you a lot more flexibility than a regular phone number.
• No one can take away your number. When you buy a virtual phone number, it becomes yours for the stated duration.
• You can use a virtual phone number on multiple devices. However, this feature depends on the company that you sign up with and the plan you register for.

Why Your Startup Needs to Leverage the VoIP Technology

Using a virtual phone system can open up a world of opportunities for startups and small businesses.

It can go a long way in giving you an edge over your contemporaries. If you want to be able to give stiff competition to big brands, it’s definitely worth having.

Still on the fence?

Here are some of the main benefits you can get from leveraging VoIP technology:

1. You Can Lower Your Business Costs

The biggest benefit of using VoIP technology is that you don’t need any physical set-up. Even if you don’t have a physical office space or an office phone, you can grow your business with this technology.

And if you have a lean setup and a tight budget, it’s a technology that you can use without any worries. For startups that don’t have a physical office in another location or country, this can be a major advantage.

The cost difference is actually startling. To establish an office and equip it with phone hardware, you may have to spend more than $100-$200.

On the other hand, setting up an office with a virtual phone system can be anywhere between $20-$30 per month. As you can see, cutting down on expenses is possible with a virtual phone system.

2. You Can Work Remotely

An extension of the previously mentioned point, VoIP technology enables you to take calls from anywhere in the world. You’re not restricted to a physical office space. If you’re on the go, you can still take business calls.

Considering that remote work is the new norm, mobility is the buzzword for businesses now. That’s where VoIP technology totally wins. It makes sure that you can make the most of mobility.

How?

The calls that you get on your virtual phone number can be easily forwarded to any cell phone. So, you can answer them while you are taking a walk or running an errand. It gives you the freedom to not be stuck in your office chair for the entire 9-5 rut.

Some startups also may have a team spread out across different parts of the world. For them, VoIP phone system can be an invaluable tool for business communication.

3. You Can Scale Your Business Easily

Startups who are looking to explore new markets and scale their business can do so easily with virtual phone systems.

As discussed earlier, this system isn’t linked to a traditional phone line. So, you don’t have to maintain expensive devices or cables to keep your office running in different parts of the world.

Without incurring any additional cost, you can set up a virtual phone system. What’s more, you can also forward your calls to another number of your choice.

This makes team collaboration very simple.

With this system, it becomes easier to establish a local presence in a foreign country and promote your startup. Through VoIP, your startup can also appear more professional in a new market.

Working with VoIP can help to improve your customer service, which results in a better customer experience. Happy customers are loyal customers, and those are the ones that keep most businesses going.

What to Look For When Choosing a Virtual Phone System

Now that you already know about the benefits of virtual phone systems for startups, let’s dig deeper. There are multiple options out there for virtual phone systems.

How can you pick the best one for your business? Before you finalize a plan or service, make sure you are clear on what your startup needs.

Here are some of the features you should look for:

• Devices allowed: Try to find a system that enables you to make phone calls via desktops, mobile phones, or other devices connected to the internet.

• Flexible pricing structure: The virtual phone system that you use should enable you to scale or upgrade your plans easily.

• Call queue option: If you get a lot of calls, you need to find a system that has a call queue option. It enables you to organize all your calls as per your convenience and priority.

• Auto-attendant feature: If you want to provide pre-recorded messages to some of your calls, the auto-attendant feature is what you need. It can help you free up a lot of your time.

Some of these features can help you reduce the overall waiting time for callers and help you improve your customer service.

Conclusion

A virtual phone system can help you run your business more efficiently and economically. It also enables you to work remotely or explore international markets without having to spend a ton of money on infrastructure.

If you want flexibility, scalability, and a low-cost solution, you should definitely get a virtual phone number for your business.

About the author:

Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is the co-founder of Attrock, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities. Find him on Twitter, LinkedIn & Instagram.

The post How Startups Can Compete with Big Rivals Using Virtual Phones first appeared on MightyCall.

Starting a small business can seem treacherous. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics found in 2020 that 25% of small businesses fail within the first year. Now you may not think on its face that that is such a big number. But think about it– if you got in your car to pick up groceries and you had a 25% chance of dying in a car crash on the way there you…probably would not be picking up groceries and would instead be ordering in for the night. And if you hope for your small business to be your livelihood, then risking it on a one out of four chance of failure means that, when you take the risk, you better be sure you know what you’re getting into.

Some of the things you’ll want to know about your small business in advance are startup costs. In present times, you’ll want a business with minimal startup costs. To help you out, we decided to put together a list of a couple of venture ideas and some general things to know about starting a small business with minimal startup costs.

Turning what you are good at into hard cash is a no-brainer — so what are you waiting for?

Navigate:

• Things to keep in mind when starting a business
• 5 businesses with minimal startups costs
• How to minimize risks when starting a business

Things to Keep in Mind When Starting a Business

The great

The good of starting a small business is that you get to take something you like to do for fun and make money off of it. That concept, on its face, is pretty great. Everyone likes doing things they, well, like, and everyone likes making money!

When starting off and thinking about what kind of business you want to start, try just taking inspiration from what is around you in your own life- the things that bring you joy or make you happy. Because there are going to be plenty of times when running a small business does *not* bring you joy or make you happy- stressful nights and long days.

But if you keep the core of what you are doing focused on something you genuinely like to do—as opposed to something you have to do—you’re more liable to keep going and to enjoy the happier days for what they are.

The important

When it comes to when running a small business, even the most minimal of initial costs can rack up exponentially in a short while if you don’t plan carefully. For those of you who aren’t organized- get organized. For those of you who hate planning- learn to love it. If you intend to make your small business your main source of income, you are going to need to take it seriously, and you can’t leave your livelihood to chance.

Learn more: How to manage a small business from your phone 

The ugly

As the saying goes, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Or, for a more blunt assessment of reality, take Murphy’s Law: “What can go wrong, will go wrong.” Things are going to go bump in the metaphorical night, and it’s best to be prepared for those eventualities.

So when going into a new small business, it’s a good idea to have a small rainy day fund just in case. You don’t need to have a million dollars saved up, but a cushion for when things get tough isn’t a bad bet. The size of that cushion varies depending on what sort of business you decide upon, but it’s still a good idea to have one regardless.

5 Businesses with Minimal Startup Costs

1. Selling Crafts Online

So you have an eye for painting. Or you’re into sewing, or you just like to work with your hands. Either way, the good news is that crafts are pretty easy to get started on and isn’t going to cost you an arm and a leg.

Firstly, it’s a good idea to pick a lane: better to start off doing something you know you are good at, make a name for what you do, and then expand into newer, riskier types of crafts. This is cheap because anyone can go to a craft store, spend a hundred bucks, and walk out with a ton of supplies.

Combine that with social media pages (almost always free) and setting up a website (not at all expensive), and you can have a business going pretty quickly. This is also useful in that you practically never need to have any sort of license when starting off (though if you get big you may need to get a business license, which isn’t necessarily difficult). Likewise, you don’t exactly need a ton of office space- if you already have a studio or a space to create well, there you go (though again, once you start operating it as a large-scale business, you might want to check your zoning codes of HOA agreements to make sure you legally can operate a business from your home/private residence).

In terms of actually making money? Well for one, you can sell what you make on your website/Etsy/other websites. But making a name for yourself varies. In a lot of cities and small towns there are not at all infrequent craft shows and small little weekend markets. Sometimes you have a pay a little bit for a stand for a day (not much- probably in a the double digits or low triple digits). There you can hawk your wares and direct people to your site to shop for more.

2. Writing and self-publishing

If you have writing skills or simply love the craft, you can channel a writing talent into several alleys: blogging, guest writing, a virtual assistant business, book writing, self-publishing online, and more.

Before you get started, create a personal website and expand the network of people who’re your potential clients and/or audience (think writer groups on social media and online networking). For writers, crowdfunding sites can help you cover publishing costs and other expenses.

Learn more: How to fuel your business with crowdfunding sites 

A great perk of the writing business is that you can start it as a side hustle and turn into a full-fledged business when revenue starts to go up, thus minimizing economic risks.

3. Tutoring, classes, and online courses

Let’s say you have that history degree lying around. You haven’t done anything with it, and it’s gathering dust on your wall. Well, brush it off, because you probably paid a decent buck for that degree and it’s time to get your money’s worth.

Tutoring and online courses are great and low-cost to begin with because you don’t really need materials. You need knowledge in a subject, and depending on who or where you tutor, you may need to have proof of that knowledge (like field experience or a degree), but beyond that, to tutor you just need yourself and a tutoring plan. A lot of the time, the students you’ll be tutoring are people who already have homework assignments and the like — your task is just to help them understand what it is they’re doing.

In pandemic times, with people stuck in their homes, virtual classes are becoming a real thing. You can give any classes online, from cooking classes, to language lessons via Skype to people from across the world, to yoga/fitness classes, to music lessons.

If you have a degree or lots of experience, you can usually charge a not-insignificant amount of money for a session. If you are intermediate-level, try teaching kids or beginners.

Combine this with, as above, a business phone, free social media pages, and a cheap website (we’ll explore that in detail below), and you have yourself a low startup costs/high reward small business plan.

4. Photography and Videography

Of all of the businesses on our list, this is the most “high cost of the low cost” options. However, if photography is something you are already into, the odds are that you already have the equipment, and you already have the commensurate experience to be able to get off some good shots. Plus, you don’t really need any official certifications in terms of getting people to trust you- if you take good photographs, they’ll trust you.

Setting up a good website and uploading your pictures and/or videos is incredibly cheap. If you truly don’t have a camera or the editing software necessary that could set you back in the upper hundreds, but long-term it’ll pay off in spades. Pandemics aside, there are always events which need to be memorialized — and photos are usually the way of going about that. The more work you get, the more you’ll be noticed — and the more you can charge.

5. Create and sell an app

Techies, this one’s for you!  The upside of creating your own app or game is that you can do it alone and completely free, and the publishing costs are minimal. For example, you can sell it to thousands of users on Google Play Store and/or App Store.

For Android apps, the process is fairly simple and involves a one-time $25 fee for opening your Google Developer Account. After that, you’ll just have to link your Merchant Account, create your app, and customize the listing.

iOS developers can also sell their apps on the Apple App Store, but that will cost you a bit more: $99/year. And hey — if you don’t have an app yet but always wanted a reason to develop one, this one’s for you too!

How to minimize business risks and startup costs further

A great business starts with great tools to save you time and bring clients. Taken altogether, the risk of starting a small business can seem large, but if you pay attention to these early things and abrogate risks early, you can avoid a lot of unpleasantness down the line. For all of the above businesses, here’s what you’ll need to get started.

Business website

A business website is your business card to the world. This is where your clients learn who you are, find your products, interact with you.

These days, building a small business website on a platform like Wix or Tilda is completely visual. It demands no coding knowledge and involves minimal startup costs as well. If you aren’t sure where to start, here are best website builders for small business, depending on your industry.

Business phone system

One of the best ways to minimize risks and startup costs when starting a business is using cost-saving tools like a virtual phone system, such as MightyCall’s. Virtual phone systems combine a lot of the different aspects you need of running a small business: contacts, voicemail with transcripts, social media oversight, employee oversight (if that’s important), and of course, making calls, all from a centralized virtual hub that you can take with you.

Cloud tools

Accounting, finance, marketing, CRM, and productivity tools have one thing in common: making a business owner’s life easier and more automated while allowing you to personally do things instead of outsourcing them. As a result, you save money, and learn to manage your business in a cost-effective way, especially as a solopreneur.

Need help with peer-reviewed cloud tools? We asked entrepreneurs to share their favorites.

Discover more

Have you picked a business with minimal startup costs you’ll start this National Entrepreneurship Month?

If that’s a yes, check out our out-of-this-world fast, mobile, and budget-friendly phone system for small business. We help solopreneurs and teams talk anytime, anywhere, and about anything, at a stunning price.

The post 5 Businesses with Minimal Startup Costs first appeared on MightyCall.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t make a living in sports or start a successful online sports business. The sports industry remains to be a lucrative one, with plenty of room to carve out a career niche in one of any number of sports-related businesses.

Even if you’re not overly athletic, starting up your own online sports agency or one of a plethora of other online sports-related businesses is a good way to make a career in an industry that is something you enjoy.

Below we take a look at some ways to pull this off.

Navigate:

• Who can start an online sports business
• Ideas and niches for online sports businesses
• Digital tools for managing an online sports business

Who can start an online sports business?

There is no need to be a former athlete or have any familial ties to break into sports management. Sports is a business, and there is no mystical formula that will help you to break into the industry. But there are certainly a few steps you can take to get you on a success path to a sports management career.

Your first step should be to gain as much knowledge of the industry as possible, either through education or experience. Most colleges and universities offer sports management degree programs, with courses that include sports marketing, law, business and finance. But there are also online sports business courses, podcasts, blogs, books, and tutorials on how to start.

Finally, use the available social media platforms to your advantage, and join whatever professional and student organizations that can help you build relationships along the way. Networking can help you to find exactly where you can merge your passion with where you fit in with respect to the business at hand.

Learn more: online networking tips from entrepreneurs (mega-guide)

By building up as many connections as you can, the better you’ll be poised when you forge off to take on your own online sports business, and provide you valuable insight and connections to help you succeed. Your network can be key to discovering the next facet of your venture – finding your niche.

Ideas/niches for online sports business

Ideally, prior to your enrolling in any degree program to start your sports management career, you would have identified your niche, or at least have an idea of what direction you’d like to take in the sports industry.

From starting your own sports agency to working to improve existing sports equipment to a host of other types of business, the sports industry affords countless opportunities. Below, we’ll touch on a few ideas.

Image by Cristina Anne Costello 

E-commerce

With the hassle now involved with heading to a brick and mortar retailer, the convenience of having click and ship ordering, along with 24/7 availability has made online shopping an easy choice for the average shopper. This opens a host of opportunities for the sports enthusiast to venture into an online store.

For example, if you have a passion for fishing, look into selling bait, tackle, and other types of angling supplies through a dedicated website. Golf enthusiasts can venture into the equipment market, from selling the best clubs to clothing lines online.

But trends change quickly, so it’s important to dedicate attention to when they do and how to address them. Keep track of the various site algorithms, how listing information is coded and eventually displayed. When running a 24/7 business, the need for around-the-clock availability to address customer concerns and questions in a timely manner, as well as resolving various logistical issues need to be a priority.

Online coaching

If you’re more ambitious, get together with local teaching professionals and open a clinic providing lessons and instruction, either online or in person. Most coaches and students have seen online learning as inferior or a lesser version of the “real thing”, but as the trends have caused huge advances in online learning across all spectrums, it’s no different in sports.

Certainly, you can’t give an online golf lesson the full impact that an in-person, on the range lesson would. But there are now literally thousands of online courses and lessons for golfers, as well as many other sports. With the growth of online coaching, there’s no need to blaze the trail in your sport, so check out those who are successful at doing similar lessons and try and follow suit.

Retail

While it’s the most obvious niche, retail is typically not the path those looking to start a sports business should take. Online sporting goods retailers have been around since the earliest days of e-commerce, and the field is tightly packed as well as highly competitive.

The prices that small operations would have to charge to create a margin necessary to make a decent profit would likely be outside the range to remain competitive.

Unless retail and e-commerce are your passion or you have a unique product that can outsell any competition, the other areas of online sports business are probably a better path to take.

Sports blogging/journalism

For those who have an interest in sports blogging/journalism, you can start up a sports magazine, newspaper, or blog. Simply by the nature of sports, there is a high percentage of people who read and buy sports news, and by writing about it you can develop a following of readers and viewers, who have a similar interest.

After developing a strong following, advertisers and sponsors can start to notice your blog. This will add potential revenue sources to keep your publication afloat and profitable.

Sports promotions

If marketing and promotions are your thing, sports promotions businesses are a very popular path. Any boxing fan knows who Don King is, as he is likely the most famous and successful sports promoter in history.

Of course, you’re not going to want to start your business competing with a world-class promoter, but all you really need is some local support from your community.  You can choose to promote sporting events in your area and attract some of the best skills there.

Profitability promoting sports can take some time and you’ll likely be spending more than you’re taking in for a while. But if you are consistent and willing to take the time to grow your operation it shouldn’t be long until you start to turn a profit.

Promotional items

By marketing promotional items for interested organizations, you can be making money with little investment. By helping companies who are manufacturing sporting goods or clothing to promote their wares, you can assist them in getting new products recognized and you’ll get a return as long as people are patronizing their goods.

Tip: While finding your niche, keep in mind the basic business principle of finding out the needs of your market. If there are a host of others providing the same services, either online or in-person locally, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle attempting to gain their business.

Digital tools for managing an online sports business

We are now in an increasingly complex digital media environment. Websites, smartphone apps, and user interactive devices are used by every business expecting to compete in today’s marketplace.

Here are the things you’ll need to get your online sports business out into the digital world and communicate with clients.

Image by Samantha Borges

Website

For an online sports business, the very first step is building your digital presence on the web.

With lots of DIY web builders, you can have a website up in just a day or two. Before launch, make sure to fill your site with lots of relevant content (your services, blog, contact, social media etc.) according to your sports niche.

Once your site is ready, spread the word either through organic SEO, ads, or ideally the combination of both. Outsourcing your SEO is a good option for beginners and non-techies.

Learn more: Best website builders for small business that put you first

Social Media

The current popularity of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram has come from the function of people power. The digital era has created the ability to advertise along with creating brand awareness to attract buyers.

People of all ages are now connected on social media in some way, shape, or form, so figuring where Millenials and GenZ are going compared to the Baby Boomers is key to finding out how to keep your content relevant.

Joining social media communities like Facebook groups for your type of audience is a good way to get engagement as long as you’re willing to put in the effort and be helpful to the community, not just sell your product/service.

Learn more: How your small business can develop a successful social media marketing strategy

Communications Tools

Communication and collaboration tools are now crucial from all businesses, as they boost worker productivity by saving time that would usually be spent elsewhere. Integrating all types of communication — voice, e-mail, IM, and video, makes it possible to manage all of your communications from one web workspace.

Other options for communicating are the various web conferencing, audio, and video conferencing solutions with built-in collaboration tools.

Tracking projects, posting updates, sharing files, and assigning tasks are possible through free and low-cost digital services that help to manage a mobile workforce.

Learn more: Communication tools to boost customer service for gym owners and trainers

In conclusion

After realizing your dream of starting your online sports business, it’s important that you continue to foster successful business practices. Your effort and attitude toward the company is likely the type of outcome you’ll see when your business begins to generate revenue.

While the sports industry is a great business to enter, bear in mind that you are one of many who are fighting for the attention of customers and athletes. Do all you can to stay ahead of your competition, find ways to be creative so to stand out, and focus on your advertising efforts.

Here are other small businesses that you can try.

About the author: Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer and businessman. He owns a golf publication site, https://www.golfinfluence.com where he shares tips for golfers.

Featured image: Shutterstock

The post How to Start an Online Sports Business first appeared on MightyCall.

While the most active areas for VAs remain social media management, email marketing, and project management, the virtual assistant industry has a plethora of opportunities for freelancers turning their side gig into full income potential or corporate employees on track to become their own boss.

If you’re still wondering whether a virtual assistant business is a fit for your set of skills and trying to get a feel of the industry, it’s time to get inside the action and ask the pros who’ve been there and done it.

Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about starting a virtual assistant business, as told by the experts — VA industry veterans who’re spilling out their secrets so you can jump right in and succeed.

Step 1: Find your virtual assistant niche

A Virtual Assistant business gives you fantastic ground to apply a variety of hard and soft skills you already own. However, the first step to landing a successful VA business is avoiding the nudge to do everything at once and instead find your sweet spot in this extremely versatile industry.

Romaine Brown Palmer, CEO and founder of The Executive Administrative Group, notes the importance of figuring out your niche early on. “What I wish I knew, in the beginning, was the importance of knowing who you want to support and who you work best with,” she notes. “Within the first year my niche became very clear…we [now] provide executive-level administrative support, event logistics, and project management services to coaches, marketing firms, and creative solo-entrepreneurs.”

Entering the VA industry following 15 years in corporate operations and administration demanded Romaine to reevaluate her strengths. “In a corporate setting, you don’t get much choice as to who you support, however as a business owner, you do. Having a niche and within that niche, knowing the personality types you work best with is GOLDEN,” she says.

The first step to becoming a successful virtual assistant is finding your niche within the wider digital services industry. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Marketing and Design

• Social media management
• Web/social media advertising
• Branding and logo design
• Website design and/or development
• SEO
• Video/podcast creation

Writing

• Copywriting
• Content management
• Email marketing
• Writing/designing social media posts
• Course creation
• Translation in your regional language pair

Communications

• Handling phone/email/web communications with client’s customers
• Sales assistance
• Customer support
• Event management
• Project management

Administration

• Building sales funnels
• Business consulting
• Business plan/strategy
• Bookkeeping and accounting
• CRM

When narrowing down your niche, make an exhaustive list of personal hard/soft skills and rate them on a 5-star basis. Tap into the skills you’re both experienced in and will have the perseverance of sticking to in the long run. Finally, select up to 5 skills you’ll be focusing on.

Learn more: Best Soft Skills to Learn From Successful Entrepreneurs

Step 2: Set up virtual assistant business essentials

One of the best things about a virtual assistant business is you get to work from any place you want — be it a home office, coffee shop, networking cafe, or a wigwam on a Caribbean island.  As long as the place has got an internet connection, you’ll be able to keep in touch with clients and do business tasks in the environment of your choice.

Such flexibility is especially important for long-time remote workers, parents, and anyone who wants to be location-independent with their business.

Here are the essential business technologies that will get you started as a virtual assistant with minimum investment.

VoIP

Voice over IP (VoIP) technology is what lets business owners communicate from any place where there’s an internet connection. A reliable and cost-saving business alternative to landlines or using your personal mobile number for business, VoIP gives fantastic output to people on both ends of the line.

Here are some of the 30+ features you get for free with MightyCall plans, perfect for virtual assistants.

• Toll-free number — give your virtual assistant business a professional image from the very first day with a toll-free number. Leads and clients won’t fail to notice your national presence and professional credibility. You may also port in an existing VoIP number or complement a toll-free number with a local or vanity number. All at no extra cost to yourself.
• Call forwarding to any device — more often than not, being a VA means working remotely. With VoIP, you can talk business from any place, on any device — mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or IP desk phone.
• Privacy protection — If you choose to forward calls to a mobile phone, you need to know whether an incoming call is personal or business-related, so you can answer accordingly. With MightyCall’s software, you’ll know this instantly.
• Built-in mini CRM —  a single place to store business contacts and keep in the loop of each client’s individual concerns. Contact Book PLUS comes free with all plans and has special Journal functionality where you can keep reminders and notes on business interactions with each client.
• Mobile app — take business communications anywhere your mobile phone goes, and always stay in touch with clients and team members.

Learn more: Why you need to stop using your personal mobile line for business

Website

Since you’re setting up an online business,  your website is the first impression customers get of your service. While you don’t want to invest hundreds of dollars into custom design and branding, you do need to project your trustworthiness and friendly service from the first moment of visual interaction.

With the many simple site builders available today, you can get a great VA site up and running in just minutes.

As you customize your online presence, here are the main pointers to look out for:

• Create custom content that addresses your audience in a friendly manner. We’ve all come across business sites that make rocket science out of figuring out their services — don’t be like that.
• Figuring out what to put on your homepage? According to WebAlive research, 86% of customers want products/services information; 64% expect to find contact information, and 52% want to know about you and your business.
• Add contact buttons, Click-to-Call widgets right to the website to help customers connect with you instantly. All it takes is several seconds.
• Add payments to your site via a service like PayPal or Stripe, so it’s easy for customers to pay for your services in a variety of ways.

Learn more: Best Website Builders for Small Business That Put You First

Step 3: Build your VA business plan

Building your business from scratch is one of the toughest hands-on activities you’ll be doing in the first months. These are also the months when you may seem desperate to get a handful of clients and may be tempted to undersell your work in order to beat the competition.

Lauren Golden, virtual assistant and founder of The Free Mama, a VA coaching site and community for mompreneurs, spoke to us about the necessity of having an actionable plan. “I don’t believe there is such a thing as a smooth road to success, mostly because we typically don’t get the clarity of seeing the entire road when we get started,” Lauren shares. “I learned a lot of lessons about self-employment the hard way, like the importance of contracts, pricing, and crystal clear communication around expectations and boundaries. ‘If you build it, they will come’ isn’t a viable marketing strategy […] Articulating and understanding client expectations is.”

Even if you don’t need an official business plan to hand investors, a personal ‘action plan’ is a must-have prior to launching a business.

Here are some essential starter questions:

• What services will you offer and how will they be different from competitors’? Check out their websites and analyze what you can do better
• What’s your target audience? Think specific industries, needs, age categories, demographics.
• How much will you charge? Will it be an hourly or flat project fee?
• Where will you find customers? (Freelancing sites, marketing, organic search, etc.) Refer to your target audience.
• How much can you afford to invest in marketing? (Social media, paid ads, etc.)
• What’s your minimum financial goal (per month/per year)? How many hours will you need to work on client tasks, minus the time for running your business, to reach that goal?
• What’s the most challenging aspect of reaching that goal? (Skills, research, networking, marketing, etc.)

Legal

As with any business, opening up a Virtual Assistant business also demands some legal permissions. The good news is that as an online business, the paperwork will be down to a minimum and will require just a few things:

• Register your business name (unless you’re a sole proprietorship using your legal name)
• Understand the type of business you’re about to open (sole proprietorship or single-person LLC)
• Get an Employer Identification Number mandatory for the IRS.
• If you’ll be working from home (as most virtual assistants do), you may need a zoning waiver based on city or county laws. Check out the SBA website for complete legal specifications for online businesses.

Step 4: Focus on your needs, not just your wants

As a virtual assistant to other entrepreneurs, you’re both providing services and running a business 24/7. As you find ways to provide for your clients while also gaining new leads, doing marketing, and keeping finances in check, the schedule can get pretty hectic. The key to keeping in focus is through targeting your own and your client’s needs, ahead of the many ‘wants’.

Melissa Smith, Founder & CEO of the Association of Virtual Assistants and best selling author of Become A Successful Virtual Assistant knows what it’s like to keep herself focused. Coming from an Executive Assistant [EA] background, a family tragedy led Melissa to leave the corporate arena and become a VA “so I can be with my children whenever they need me or I need them”.

“EAs & VAs typically work in step-by-step proven processes,” Melissa shares. “I had to reverse engineer the process. I had to give clients what they wanted and give them what they needed so it worked. What I was excited about implementing and what the client was excited about were two different things. Our common ground was the outcome we both focused on, which is any VAs selling point.”

Here are Melissa’s tips for anyone starting out as a virtual assistant:

1. Focus on earning money, not spending money on things you want but don’t need. Once you know your niche and the clients you serve, then you’ll be able to create the right branding for your business.
2. Don’t sign long-term contracts. You likely are not charging enough for your work when you’re first starting out. The wrong long-term contract can seem like a death sentence […] With a short-term contract, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel if it’s not the right fit for you.
3. If someone is willing to pay you, they believe you can do it. If you need to brush up on your skills or take a quick course to figure it out, do that and don’t charge for the time. Be transparent with the client and then only charge for the work, not the time it took to get yourself up to speed.

Step 5: Learn from and connect to other virtual assistants

There’s no business without two things: constant learning and consistent networking. As Melissa Smith points out, “No one was meant to do life or business alone.” Guiding and connecting business owners is the reason that communities like the Association of Virtual Assistants spring into life in the first place.

Rita J. Cartwright Southern, Founder of RJ’s Internet Marketing Solutions, LLC, got her Bachelor of Science business degree in Marketing as a 39-year-old adult. While higher education helped her “operate business” and “broaden [the] mind”, today business owners can ‘sit in’ on a free course in one of the nation’s best schools via a platform like Coursera, learning from the comfort of their home.

For anyone new to self-employment, networking is another important part of the learning curve. Advising aspiring online business owners, Rita recommends “to find an online VA community that you feel is a good fit for you” in order to accelerate growth. “When working from home after years of working in Corporate America, one can feel as though they are alone on an island. The VA niche offers a variety of online communities that…provide valuable tips for operating a VA business and much more.”

Final Word

As you launch your virtual assistant business, keep in mind that ultimately, success depends on that resilient “faith in yourself and your products and/or services” the importance of which seasoned entrepreneurs like Rita never underestimate. The reward? “Being made into a leader, positioned to give back to [the] community” and help others, who like you today are making their first steps in digital entrepreneurship.

The post Starting a Virtual Assistant Business in 5 Easy Steps first appeared on MightyCall.

Without the need to invest in store rental on a permanent basis, pop-up stores are the ideal compromise for e-commerce entrepreneurs. With a pop-up shop, an e-commerce-based business can forget about the challenges of off-season sales and connect to wider audiences during the peak times of the year when their business is most profitable.

Pop-up retail is also the best way to give your business exposure during the busiest season of the year: the post-Thanksgiving through Christmas holiday shopping sprees.

What is a pop-up store?

Pop-up stores are temporary or seasonal stores (often kiosks) that can be set up in practically any location. There are several general types of pop-up stores:

• Store-within-a-store  — this pop-up model means renting out a portion of a store where your products can be displayed
• Kiosks/booths/stands —kiosks and product stands can be placed anywhere — even in the middle of a street but they are most popular in shopping mall hallways and at local markets
• Co-working and event spaces  — very popular locations for pop up retail, these locations have to be booked in advance if you want to be in for a specific time-frame
• Short-term storefront rental — a great way to test out if you’re ready for a real shop. Grab these offers while they’re available, and make sure your rental contract isn’t long-term if you’re planning to move out by the end of the season.

Consumers love pop-up stores because they offer the same kinds of niche products customers usually shop online for. Unlike online stores though, a physical pop-up store lets customers see and touch the products in a live environment. This way, consumers get the best shopping experience of both worlds — the unique market range of online goods and the convenience of a real shopping experience.

Even retail giants need pop-up stores

It may seem like retail giants such as Macy’s and Kohl’s have huge enough presence to not worry about the perks of pop-up shops. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

As early as this weekend, Kohl’s is opening up a holiday pop-up shop in NYC and Macy’s is in full swing with their new Macy’s STORY concept.

After acquiring STORY in 2018, Macy’s has been reinventing shopping with an immersive experience seemingly materialized from an Instagram-perfect story. Having started out with the delicious Color STORY, Macy’s pop-up stores switch narrative every few months to present products and brands around a single theme. This holiday season, Macy’s is featuring a cozy log cabin stuffed with holiday goodies and giftables.

Pop-up stores for e-commerce

If you’re in e-commerce, a pop-up store can bring you some great benefits along with terrific exposure of your brand — elements that are sure to spill over into both the “real” and online worlds.

What are the benefits of a pop-up store for e-commerce? Let’s look into a few stats:

• 80% of global retailers who  opened a pop-up store said it was a success.
• Opening up a pop-up shop cost them  less than $5,000, according to 44% survey respondents
• 51% of respondents noted increased market visibility, while 46% noted increased sales and another 46% a boost in social media engagement, according to the same survey.
• Rent for a pop-up store is as low as 20% of regular rates
• A pop-up store is a win-win for online and regular shoppers: by giving your online followers a live space to try out and test your products, you’re also marketing your online store to regular shoppers

In addition to the above benefits, a pop-up shop model creates a sense of urgency and excited anticipation for your customers. Knowing that your store will be there only for a short time, consumers stand a great chance of grabbing that terrific product or deal without putting it off “for later”.

Whatever your niche and store location,  design your pop-up store with Instagram-worthy sharing in mind. Don’t forget to put up posters or other ads with specific hashtags to make sharing easy. These will promote your business across social media channels and ensure that your success continues to build, regardless of the shopping season or location of your store.

Is your business ready for the holiday season? Look into our guide to perfect voicemail greetings to make your customer interactions extra special this holiday season — and thank yourself the whole year to come with increased customer satisfaction and loyalty!

The post Pop-Up Stores Transform Holiday Retail for E-Commerce first appeared on MightyCall.