Last Updated on Mar 5, 2020 by James W
No matter you run a fast – food booth, a cozy bookstore, a fashion store or even a small restaurant, as a business owner you always have to keep an eye to your market niche and competitors, but also on those particular technology trends that will help you be ahead of the competition and grow your business into a sustainable and, why not, a profitable one on a long term basis.
Entrepreneurship is not only the running engine of today’s economy, even if small business were the first affected by the last years’ recession, but the heart of consumers’ needs and expectations. Everybody wants to find the best car wash, the best courier, the best hot-dog food truck or the best house and garden tools and products. Also, everybody relies on technology to make their lives better, easier, more comfortable. And if there are phone applications that can get people cabs at 2 a.m., who says your own business can’t benefit from the wonders of technology? Some may cost you significant amounts of money, while others are quite affordable.
-
Get mobile
Few people saw laptops performing complicated tasks inside of a hot – dog truck, but nobody will be surprised if you used a tablet or a smartphone to help you around. These mobile devices can help a business owner have all the data he needs by his side. Think about storing important financial data from your computer to your device. Think about accessing the Internet o find out some information you can’t provide to your client by the grace of your memory.
Think about using synchronization methods so you could be connected to your home documents in real time, or use Dropbox to check your last financial info if your accountant calls for some specific numbers. Data mobility is something that undeniably changed the pace and development perspectives for business. So what you are only selling pancakes? You can become the only pancake booth in the area that lets the clients choose their favorite pancake recipe from the Internet.
-
Use the Internet wisely
No matter how big or small, nowadays every business has a web-site, a logo, some social media accounts, a SEO expert and at least one mobile phone app to meet the clients’ needs better. For a business owner who is busy enough to run a business, let alone a Facebook account, things might get a little complicated, especially for those who don’t understand that everybody lives online nowadays. But if you want to build your own site, outsource a web master, as building is one and maintaining it at high standards is another.
If you want to run a Facebook promotion campaign, get somebody who can do it without even costing you a fortune. If you think big and want to develop, then SEO is your future homework and finding SEO experts might be harder than you think. If you sell food and want to implement home delivery, partner with an online platform and if you want to sell big on your fresh online shop, ask around for affiliate programs. Using the technology of the present might help you, with the right assistance, to turn your small business into big business. Did somebody thank you for making their car look and feel brand new? Ask them to leave an online review about what a great job you did changing their tires. A thousand good reviews may be more efficient in some cases than a TV commercial.
-
Take a plunge into the plastic money universe
People are afraid of credit card hacking and identity stealing, yet fewer and fewer will get along with your “cash only” sign. Is the POS too much of a trouble for you, but you hate when people leave your booth or store disappointed they can’t pay with their cards? Get a credit card reader and use it on your tablet or smartphone. The system is quite efficient and there are several brands on the market which offer reability, efficiency and even the customer’s identity safety.
These small devices can actually save and grow a small business and owners are more than happy to provide their clients with the opportunity of paying by credit card instead of cash. One good resource is moblized.com because it explains in detail what is a credit card reader, how it works, what you pay and what your clients pay. You may sell the best burgers in the park, but at the end of the day, if a customer walks away still hungry, as he couldn’t get one of your burgers, since he had no cash on him, for you that’s a lost customer, a lost review and lost money.
