Although hiring a branding expert may be too large an expense in the early days, you can still help your business stand out in the best possible way without breaking the bank.

Just follow these simple marketing moves that will help people to know, like, and trust you.

1. Build credibility with your own email address

A custom email account isn’t costly but is well worth the effort. Sending company emails from a Gmail or Hotmail account will raise questions about the legitimacy of your business (if they ever make it past your customers’ spam filters.)

If you’ve already registered your company’s domain name for your website it’s a snap to set up a custom email address. Many web hosting services such as Bluehost include a free custom email account with their service packages.

If you’ve never registered a domain name, search what’s available at GoDaddy.com or NameCheap.com. Most companies can help you find a memorable domain name with SEO keywords.

2. Build your brand with a customized logo

An effective eye-catching logo will attract new customers, help you stand apart from competitors, build trust in your brand and, ideally, inspire customer loyalty.

Should you have the funds to hire a logo designer, you’ll save time and get a unique, professional result—but best be prepared.

A professional designer will want to discuss your company’s brand identity with you. Being clear on your brand before your first consult will streamline the process, ensuring you get exactly what you want.

This article from LeanLabs help you pin down your unique brand identity with twenty questions. You might also find this free downloadable brand character workbook useful.

And if budget is a concern, try one of these free graphic design tools that help you combine visual elements to quickly create your own logo:

• Canva
• LogoJoy
• GraphicSprings
• LogoGarden

3. Build trust with a professional photo

Before strangers will buy from you, they need to get to know you.

A high quality photo for your website and social media accounts, in addition to professional web content and engaging social media posts, is a must. Nothing makes a business appear more “fly by night” than a faceless LinkedIn avatar—or less professional than a grainy, out of focus selfie.

Expect to pay in the ballpark of $100 for a headshot (or more, depending on the photographer’s hourly rate and the length of your shoot). You can also do it yourself if you’re on a budget following these quick headshot tips from HubSpot.

Next steps

Marketing is an ongoing commitment for every business, and as your business and bottom line grow you can invest in new strategies to maintain a profitable company.

In the meantime, these simple “must do’s” will help you make that the positive first impression with your customers and with would-be investors, potential partners, and lenders.

The post 3 easy and inexpensive ways to look more professional when you’re starting out appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

These tips will show you five simple ways to promote your local business without breaking the bank.

Get free press

Advertising rates for local newspapers and radio stations can be way too costly for a small business. Instead, think about how you might generate a story the media will want to share. For instance, a grand opening, anniversary, community fundraiser or special event can be the perfect opportunity for an interview on local TV or radio. Likewise, get in touch with your local newspaper to see if they’d be interested in an article about your latest product launch or move to a new location.

Cross promote

Partnering up with another local business for a product release, new project, or service bundle can exponentially increase exposure for your company. Brainstorm non-competing, complementary businesses in your area – then think about how you might work together to attract new customers. Cross promotion creates an opportunity to reach out to each other’s mail lists, add each other’s business name to any mail outs, post information about your partner’s company in store and team up on an event you can invite all of your customers to.

Support a cause

Start or get involved in a local fundraiser. Giving back will raise your community profile and provide free advertising, while creating goodwill as you help an individual or organization in need. Schools, libraries, hospitals and not-for-profits all benefit from volunteerism and community fundraisers. And if that isn’t reason enough, customers want to support businesses that care. Demonstrate that your company is interested in improving the wellbeing of your community and you’ll instantly gain new fans.

Host a workshop
Contact your local library, Chamber of Commerce or small business bureau to arrange a free educational talk on a topic of interest to your target customer. Providing valuable information is a great way to build credibility, trust and initiate customer relationships. Consider a prize draw for a free product or service – and be sure to have promotional available to take away, including information on your loyalty program to entice new leads to make a first purchase.

Run a contest

Offering a prize giveaway is a fantastic way to generate buzz online and in your community. It’s also a great way to build a mailing list you can send promotional information to (with permission, of course). You can work together with other local businesses in your area to extend your reach when promoting the contest, with each company donating a prize to the basket. Without much investment, you’ll be able to offer a much more valuable prize this way – and reach many more potential customers with every business doing their part to get the word out.

Final tips

Marketing your business locally needn’t cost a lot of money, but it does take a regular time commitment. Build free promotional activities into your annual business plan, get strategic about timing your marketing.

The post How to get your business noticed on a shoestring budget appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

Choose the Right Real Estate Agent

While every area has a handful of real estate agents who make a name for themselves by outselling their competitors, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one of them is the right agent for you. While a top seller may be just what you need, it’s more important that you choose an agent with whom you can work well and feel comfortable. Whether you choose a realtor who is an outgoing overachiever or a laid back professional who takes a more relaxed approach is entirely up to you.

Pick the Right Price

There’s nothing that will knock your home out of the running more quickly than a price that’s too high. Before pricing your home, do your research and find out what comparable homes in your area are selling for. While your real estate agent will help you determine where to place your asking price, it is always a good idea to be an informed party in the process. Perform internet searches to locate homes in your neighbourhood and the adjoining ones to find homes similar to yours and see how they’re priced and which ones are selling.

Stage Your Home

Although not all sellers invest the effort required to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere in their home so it looks inviting when potential buyers come through, smart sellers do. If you’ve ever watched the real estate shows on the home improvement channels on television, you’ve probably been exposed to the concept of home staging. De-cluttering, improving curb appeal, cleaning and creating a neutral atmosphere are all key components of staging your home in a way that helps prospective buyers be able to imagine themselves in your home and encourages them to make an offer.

List Your Home on the Internet

Nowadays most home buyers start their search for a new house in the internet. What that means to you is that you should get your home listed on the internet as early in the selling process as you can. Ensure that your realtor gets your house, along with numerous attractive photos of the interior and exterior of the home, onto as many real estate search sites as he can. The more people that view your home, the more likely you’ll attract the buyer that is going to come through with an offer for your asking price.

While selling a house in a hurry can pose challenges, they’re nothing that you can’t overcome with proper planning and action. Before you know it, you’ll have a signed contract in hand and be happily packing boxes for the move to your new place.

The post Essential Tips to Help You Sell Your House Quickly appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

Crowdfunding offers an exciting funding alternative for businesses. Originally the domain of filmmakers, musicians and artists, crowdfunding is now used by start ups and business owners to raise capital, based on a simple notion: large amounts of money can be raised in small amounts from numerous donors via the Internet.

Here’s what you need to know about launching a successful crowdfunding campaign, including information on three platforms designed to raise business capital.

How crowdfunding works

Crowdfunding allows businesses the freedom to raise capital from investors, customers, colleagues, peers, family, friends – even strangers. Like anyone in search of funding, successful campaigns rely on a solid idea and a detailed business plan – including financial forecasts and cash flow statements – to convince potential donors it’s worthwhile to support your venture.

Typically, an established crowdfunding platform, like Kickstarter or peerbackers, is used to promote a campaign page, with incentives for donors in the form of rewards or equity. A reward might be pre-order of a new product, or services offered in exchange for funding support; equity would be a share of stock offered in exchange for capital.

Tips for launching a campaign

Crowdfunding campaigns don’t tend to go viral; they gain traction because they appeal to the people you already know – your network – as well as investors who are searching for an opportunity.

Successful business crowdfunding campaigns have these things in common:

• They tell a compelling story and convey passion for an idea, connecting like-minded people who share your vision and enthusiasm;
• They offer backers high level, time-limited rewards that include the product – and require fewer sales to achieve the fundraising goal;
• They use every means available to sell a great pitch, including detailed business plans, product images and video.

Choose the right platform

Here are three options for creating a winning business crowdfunding campaign:

• Fundable allows rewards-based and equity crowdfunding to attract backers. It costs $179 to host a campaign, which will put your venture in front of more than 23,000 registered investors.
• Indiegogo is open to anyone who wants to launch a crowdfunding campaign, small businesses included. It’s free to sign up but the company charges 5 percent platform fees on all funds raised and payment processing fees average between 3-5 percent.
• Endurance Lending Network is a little bit different than other crowdfunding platforms as its mission is to help small businesses seeking up to $500,000 of debt capital. Businesses benefit from easy access to loans at attractive rates, and investors earn good returns with secured term business loans.

Crowdfunding can be a smart, cost-effective way to get your business off the ground. It can also offer an incredible, unadvertised side-benefit: priceless feedback from your backers that can help tweak your idea before you move into production, allowing you to launch an even more successful product.

The post How Crowdfunding Can Help your Business appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

Without a doubt, having someone to help deal with routine tasks can greatly improve productivity. The rub is that hired help is often too expensive for small business owners.

Internships can be a real win-win: a student gets hands-on experience assisting you with marketing, accounting or administrative work and you get time-saving help for free.

Cloudsourcing a qualified remote worker is another cost-effective way to bring on some much needed support for administrative tasks.

2. Think thin

Small business owners are often advised to trim down their offerings to a niche market. You can save money by applying that same thinking to how you do business.

For instance, subcontracting can allow a service-based business owner to keep a narrow focus on the work they do, while attracting more customers. Taking on more work and paying someone to do it at a lower rate than you charge your clients will increase capacity and your bottom line – while maintaining your focus on what you do best.

3. Network more

Forget expensive print ads and direct mail campaigns. You can save a ton of money getting the word out about your business by connecting directly with your target market:

• Co-host an event with a business owner whose customers will be interested in what you do.
• Connect with your local Chamber of Commerce.
• Attend business networking referral events.
• Run a contest on social media.
• Sponsor a community fundraiser.

Networking at trade shows and industry events is another great way to meet potential partners and customers, without breaking the bank on costly advertising fees.

4. Embrace co-opetition
Often businesses buy in bulk to save money. Unfortunately, purchasing in volume can backfire if you’re struggling to maintain positive cash flow, and the cheap supplies you bought never get used.

A better strategy is to only buy what you need and to share costs with other small business owners. Co-opetition is becoming a buzzword for good reason. Forming alliances with businesses can lead to lucrative partnerships while collectively saving everyone some cash.

5. Save time with technology

If you haven’t yet made the leap, adopt cloud-based software to improve operational efficiency. Try free collaboration tools like Google Drive – also a great way to cut down on the cost of paper. Use virtual meeting technology to save a small fortune on travel costs when connecting with clients in different time zones. And do a free trial of accounting software to see how automating routine tasks like invoicing and payroll can improve accuracy and free up hours from your schedule.

Final tips

Review your business expenses on a regular basis to track rising costs and to find more ways to reduce unnecessary spending.

A few final – and costly – pitfalls for busy small business owners to avoid:

• Always pay vendors and lenders on time to dodge late fees, interest and a poor credit rating.
• Shop around for the best deals on everything from software and financial services to office supplies and inventory.
• Hold off on renting space for as long as possible. Encourage staff to work remotely, meet clients in coffee shops and remember: home office space is an eligible tax write off.

What will you do differently to start cutting costs for your small business today?

The post 5 Ways to Save Money for your Business appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

These tips can help you with the process of making plans to help guide your business to greater success.

Set priorities

Entrepreneurs are typically highly creative and optimistic; as a result, they often have difficulty narrowing down their ideas from among all the exciting possibilities, whether it’s an opportunity to expand to a new market or choosing a better time management strategy.

As you update your business plan, focus on what’s most important for your business to achieve this year. Then break your goals down into smaller tasks, to maximize productivity and enjoy the little successes that lead to big changes.

Start by defining your top three business goals for the next four quarters. With those in mind, do some research to help you decide on the best way to achieve those three goals – and a reasonable timeline for meeting specific targets.

Think different

Your priorities in the coming year may be to hit a certain revenue target, launch a new product line or tap a completely new market.

An important thing to keep in mind as you make plans to move your business forward is how you’ll stay competitive. For instance, it’s important to review your pricing strategy on an annual basis, to ensure you continue to attract new prospects and retain customers.

As part of your overall business planning process, spend some time on competitive intelligence, too. Include in your plans how you’ll increase value for your offerings and continue to stand apart from the crowd.

Find money

If scaling your business is on your agenda for the year ahead, and you don’t have savings earmarked to fund your ideas, you’ll want to make sure your business plan includes adequate financial planning.

Applying to a lender for a business loan is one option. In this case, you’ll want to include up to date cash flow reports, income statements, budgets and projections in your plan for a potential lender.

If your business doesn’t have a credit history, you may need to look at other options for financing your plans. Using a business credit card on a regular basis and paying off the balance can help you build a good credit rating, which will help you prepare to apply for a loan down the road.

Your accountant can also help provide additional financial advice and support as you update your business plan, based on your most current financial records.

With these business planning tips in mind, you’ll be well-prepared for a new year of growth and continued success.

Final tips

• Review your business plan every quarter to ensure you stay on track with your goals and priorities throughout the year.
• Be realistic about opportunities and challenges as you plan ahead. Your accountant can offer business advisory services – and help you set meaningful short and long term goals.
• As alternatives to applying for a loan or line of credit, consider crowdfunding or angel investing to help you meet your business goals.

The post Update your business plan for a new year appeared first on Dudley & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.

Customers want to support companies that demonstrate a commitment to more than earning a profit. A 2010 study by Cone Marketing showed that 85 per cent of customers respond positively to companies that give to a charity they care about.

Moreover, collaborating on charitable activities encourages team building among your staff, which can improve morale and even increase productivity.

Including volunteer days in your company’s benefit package can also attract top talent and encourage staff loyalty. A 2015 study revealed that 62 percent of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a company that demonstrates a commitment to social responsibility.

Convinced giving back matters? Here are a few easy ways to become a more socially conscious company.

Implement staff volunteer days

Allowing your staff time to volunteer in the community once or twice a year is a win-win for everyone involved. Your company’s commitment to community giving can make a meaningful difference to a charitable organization while raising your company’s profile and earning the appreciation of your staff.

Host a community event

Schools, hospitals, libraries, community centers and children’s clubs can always use extra financial support. Choose which community organization you’d most like to support, keeping your company’s core values in mind – then start a campaign to raise funds for your cause. A carwash, BBQ, bake sale or fun fair can become an anticipated annual event with the help of your staff and the support of other businesses in your community.

Sponsor a donor matching program

Pledge to match donations up to a certain amount for a cause of your choice. Donor matching is a great way to inspire people to give more generously, knowing their donations will go further –and your company will be remembered for your collective generosity and goodwill. Use your company’s social media channels to spread the word about your donor matching program and encourage your followers to give to your cause.

Final tips

You’ll get a more positive response to initiating charitable efforts when you invite your staff’s involvement. Ask your employees to come up with a list of charitable initiatives that matter to them and that align with your company’s mission and values. Then take a vote on the top two or three charities you’ll work together to support that year – perhaps one local community initiative and a campaign to help a larger national charity.

Acknowledge your staff’s participation in your corporate giving projects and reward them for their personal contributions. Time off, a free t-shirt or a group draw for a gift card can go a long way to increasing participation and making your efforts to give back both rewarding and fun for everyone involved.

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