 Is this the time to start something new? A new business, product or service? There is hope that the pandemic is receding due to vaccination rates, and that people will begin buying, traveling, eating out and generally consuming again soon. However, considering how many small businesses failed during 2020, because the pandemic, does the risk seem too high?
Roughly half of small business failures, no matter what’s going on in the economy, are due to the target market being too small. That’s what happened to restaurants in 2020 – the market of people who eat out, after growing year over year for 35 years, shrank dramatically. One can imagine that the shrinking market will come roaring back when people are no longer risking lives to eat out. Target markets are dynamic. Let’s take baby boomers. There are 69.56 million of them, but they are beginning to retire and spend less. Meanwhile, the Millennials (71.12 million of them) who have had a bad rap for living in their parents’ basements, have grown up and are buying houses, having babies, getting bigger cars, and consuming more like the baby boomers used to. In fact, the size of the Millennial generation may be what makes this an ideal time to start a business. A consumer-based economy, with stimulus and a growing number of consumers, will expand. People will be vaccinated and feel freer to participate in events, programs, travel, eateries, etc. The businesses that provide consumer goods and services will need more supplies and services from other businesses. In other words, things are looking good. Think clearly about your target market and how you are going to reach them, and then decide whether this is the right time to start your new business! The American economy could use your help! We are launching our new Profitable Idea Coaching Program this spring. Join us for group and individual coaching, a team of experts, a business planning model and a business plan over 9 weeks. Contact us for more information!
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 In an unhealthy economy, large businesses go into bankruptcy (e.g., Hertz) and small businesses fade away, often untracked by those who try desperately to track the health of small businesses. Their debt level isn’t so large that they go into bankruptcy, the theory goes, so they just turn out the lights and disappear.
We’re going through a potentially disastrous fading away period right now. Why is this important? In a healthy economy, according to the USBA, firms with fewer than 500 employees account for about 44% of US economic activity and they employ almost half of all American workers. We need small businesses to start hiring again to keep America employed and we need them to buy goods and services to get the economy moving upward. Yelp data indicates the biggest failure rates are among restaurants, retail, beauty, automotive, and event planning. That doesn’t mean all industries are experiencing the fade. According to one of my favorite experts, Cynthia Flanders, cleaning and delivery services are thriving, as are drive-in movies, grocery stores, landscapers, and breweries with outdoor seating. Meanwhile, businesses are trying to survive by pivoting. Look it up – there aren’t any good alternatives to the word pivot, so, while it may be overused, it is the word that most clearly describes what many small businesses have to do to survive. Restaurants are letting employees go and pivoting to take-out dining, event planners are developing online event services, and some salon experts are making house calls. Consultants are changing industries, coaches are building up their career coaching, and dog walkers are delivering groceries. When the pandemic is under control, what can we do to help the US economy? We need entrepreneurial people who have the encouragement, knowledge, interest and access to funds to start new businesses. We’ll need to replace restaurants when people can eat out comfortably again. We’ll need new salons, spas, and venues to relax and be entertained. Retail stores must open to allow people to shop locally again. Businesses are needed back in our communities - companies unlike any we’ve seen before, newly minted by fresh imaginations. We need people from all regions, backgrounds, and perspectives applying science to their arts and arts to the sciences. Until we are free from the pandemic, entrepreneurs and small business owners must take this time to be prepared! We would love to help by providing encouragement, knowledge, coaching and business experience to ensure new and pivoting businesses are blossoming when this storm is over. All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby Mindful Profits LLC [email protected] www.mindfulprofits.com  An August Idea.
Unless you are running a vacation business, you're probably on vacation. August is the month when no one is answering the phone, much less worrying about retirement! Here's an August idea for small business owners: spend some time, while waiting in line for beach towels, ice cream, or tee shots, thinking about your retirement goals. What are you going to retire on? What are the other 30 million small business owners thinking about retirement? 37%of small business owners say they can't afford to save for retirement. Of small businesses with 2 -99 employees (less than 20% of all small businesses), only 42% offer 401K plans. 35 percentof small-business owners plan to retire on proceeds from the sale of their businesses. (However, half of those don't know who will buy their businesses.) More than a third of small business owners say they don't plan to retire. Small business owners can be risk takers and optimistic! Small business owners also spend much of their time trying to make ends meet, staying profitable, and investing on future growth. Even so, it's vital to consider how your business can to help you achieve your retirement goals, starting this year, next year and all those years until your retirement time comes. So, take some time to think about it while sipping a margarita, staring into a sunset, and nibbling on BBQ treats! We would love to help you, or a small business owner you know, with ideas on building that very important nest egg! All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby [email protected] www.mindfulprofits.com 800-556-4842  While you're out buying begonias, lawn chairs, or a cooler for the warm weather ahead, take note of the marketing ideas around you. These are likely fully tested and proven ideas. Large companies spend millions on market research to sell more. If at first they don't succeed, they spend millions more to improve results.
Small business owners often can't afford to spend on market research. So, why not borrow what the big companies have learned for free! Have you seen Legos "Friends" collections at the toy store? Less than 10% of Legos sets were purchased for girls until, in 2012, after years of research, with thousands of young female participants and their mothers, the company created Legos "Friends." These more brightly colored blocks have larger figurines with accessories. Targeting specific audiences with color changes, new themes and accessories improved sales, but Legos are still construction blocks. Perhaps, the increase in sales to girls is contributing to a significant rise in female engineering students and construction employees! During Mindful Profits workshops, I talk about the value of direct mail - the kind that is printed on paper and delivered to your mail box. Why? Because big company research shows it is effective. Why else would Google send my company direct mail every quarter offering deals on online ads? Direct mail is contributing to the rise of internet marketing. Maybe it can do the same for your business! We would love to help you, or a small business owner you know, make the most of marketing ideas! All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby  We all do it. We fill in the March Madness ladder, knowing who the winners will be. We buy a lottery ticket, and plan what we'll do with the winnings. And when we see a rainbow, we can't help thinking about a pot of gold at the other end. Wonderful flights of whimsey! But when you have a small business, you need something more concrete.
Here's a March idea. Take the time, while the days are getting longer, to revamp your sales plan. First, figure out how many prospects you need to make a sale. If you sell mostly to existing clients and referrals, your close rate might be 50%, and you won't need as many new prospects to reach your sales goals. However, if you are relying on new prospects, your close rate may be less than 3%, and online, more likely under 1%. That means you'll need many more prospects ASAP! How do you go about scaling up your list of prospects? Set some networking goals, create an online marketing strategy, or develop a contest! Find innovative ways to increase the list and close the sales, then track those close rates. Overtime you'll increase the accuracy of sales planning for your business, which helps you manage your revenue and profitability. Let us know if you, or a small business owner you know, needs help! All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby  The February lull began on Super Bowl Sunday, when thousands of Nashville restaurants closed. No one eats out. No phones ring. No prospects. No orders. No place to eat, except a casual dining chain where we discovered Coca Cola Cake. (All was not lost!)
The February lull hits most small businesses. So don't panic about the stillness of the phone. Turn a lull into an opportunity. Here's a February idea. This is a perfect time of year to spruce up your prospect database. Why is this important? An artist client of mine broke even by the 3rd year. When she started out, she had about 30 prospects. Today she has nearly 1,000. This growth was intentional. She planned to increase her number of prospects every month by a certain percentage. Then she tracked her progress, to ensure she met her goal. It doesn't matter if your prospect database is online, in Excel or in a notebook. What matters is that you intentionally grow the number of people in it - every month. Your company's sales over time are directly related to the number of prospects you have. Why not revamp your database and set your goals during the February lull? Let us know if you or a small business owner you know needs help! All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby  OK, so December was chaotic. Sales surged, events accelerated, and everyone needed a piece of you. Whether or not your small business met your 2018 expectations, it's January now, and 2019 is full of opportunity. Here's an idea. Take a step back and envision your year ahead. Establish your financial goals for the year and create a realistic forecast for how your small business will meet those goals - including sales, revenue, expenses and profit. Forecasting is so much fun! It's almost like looking into a crystal ball! You'll be able to look ahead to next December and see how your bottom line will improve. Even though it's still the beginning of 2019! Maybe you need to adjust the strategy, products, sales channels, marketing activity, or expenses. By establishing a small business forecast, you'll know where to go from here. Let us know if you or a small business owner you know needs help! All the best for your success, Amanda Weathersby |
AuthorAmanda Weathersby is an entrepreneur who sold one business to a publicly traded company and another to her partners. She, like more than 300 speakers at 100 Entrepreneur Foundation classes, also knows about business failures. Creative problem solving and predictive forecasting tools have become her passion. Archives
March 2021
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