Okay, Earth Hour. Banish me to the salt mines. I forgot. However, like lots of small business owners, I do try to do my bit for the planet on the other 364 days of the year. At least, I do now since I researched the whole Going Green in Business for a chapter in The Small Business Success Guide.
Why bother? Research from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia suggests that the combined carbon footprint of the small business collective is estimated to be as much as 70% of global pollution. And according to GreenBizCheck:
* Leaving a computer screen on for just one night uses up enough energy to microwave six dinners.
* A computer left on 24/7 costs approximately $95 a year to run. If this PC is switched off before going home and at weekends, this can be reduced to $20.
* Increasing the air-conditioner temperature in your office by 1 degree C in summer and reducing the temperature by 1 degree C in winter will save about 10% off your energy bill.
Easy ways to make a difference
Here are a few tips from GreenBizCheck:
* Switch things off. About 10% of the total global electrical appliance energy consumption is wasted on stand-by energy. Turn everything off at the power point.
* Unplug charges. They're using up energy even when they're just plugged in.
* Work from home more. A commute of two hours a day means that in 40 years you'll have spent 2.3 years commuting. Think of those fuel costs!
Every little bit helps.
Margie
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Social media success story
There's a lot of hype about social media, and you shouldn't underestimate its relevance for small businesses. I've just listened to an interesting webinar from Trump University, and it's brought home some of the social media strategies I speak about in my book, The Small Business Success Guide.
Firstly, there's no point as a small business owner saying that social media isn't for your business if you've never checked it out. Ask people you know, including your clients, about the sort of social media they use. Then have a play yourself and start nurturing online relationships with people, who may in the future pay for your product or service.
Give them information or updates on what you're up to. Make it interesting and relevant. "It's how business is being done," says Michelle Gamble of Marketing Angels. "It's quick, it's targeted, it's instantly measurable and it's free."
A great one to look at, which is also featured in The Small Business Success Guide, is Sydney's Mumu Grill. Owner Craig Macindoe has set a cracking pace in his online presence, and it's reaping the rewards. In fact, he says his business is "up 30 to 40 per cent on last year, and at least half of that is due to social media".
You can alwyas take a small business friend along for the ride. Social media and marketing expert John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing says you can create a blog and then get a group of similar professionals to join forces and share their expertise.
In The Small Business Success Guide, he talks about a plumber, electrician, lawn-mowing service and heating and cooling company who would make a killer home tips blogging team.
Who'd be on your team?
Margie
Firstly, there's no point as a small business owner saying that social media isn't for your business if you've never checked it out. Ask people you know, including your clients, about the sort of social media they use. Then have a play yourself and start nurturing online relationships with people, who may in the future pay for your product or service.
Give them information or updates on what you're up to. Make it interesting and relevant. "It's how business is being done," says Michelle Gamble of Marketing Angels. "It's quick, it's targeted, it's instantly measurable and it's free."
A great one to look at, which is also featured in The Small Business Success Guide, is Sydney's Mumu Grill. Owner Craig Macindoe has set a cracking pace in his online presence, and it's reaping the rewards. In fact, he says his business is "up 30 to 40 per cent on last year, and at least half of that is due to social media".
You can alwyas take a small business friend along for the ride. Social media and marketing expert John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing says you can create a blog and then get a group of similar professionals to join forces and share their expertise.
In The Small Business Success Guide, he talks about a plumber, electrician, lawn-mowing service and heating and cooling company who would make a killer home tips blogging team.
Who'd be on your team?
Margie
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
When should I expand my business?
Somehow, "bigger is better" has become the accepted measure of small business success. If you're not growing, surely you must be doing something wrong?
But just remember that success is absolutely in the eyes of the beholder. And while the mythical Land of Lots of Opportunities is an exciting place, it's often not all it's cracked up to be.
So be prepared. "If you want to get bigger, make sure it is the best outcome for your business," says Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Think about any growth and the implications it's going to have for you and your business. How does expanding your business fit in with your business goals?
"If you decide the time is right, make the growth sensible and controlled," states Godbee in Chapter 43 of The Small Business Success Guide.
Take the time to consider exactly how your business is going to expand: is it a new team member, new premises, new production capabilities?
As Kathryn Conder, partner of executive and business mentoring firm Carnegie Management Group, adds in The Small Business Success Guide: "Companies that expand successfully have done the planning and are prepared to work hard.
"If you haven't spent the time forecasting and costing your plan, and considering the whole process, don't grow."
Wise advice!
Margie
But just remember that success is absolutely in the eyes of the beholder. And while the mythical Land of Lots of Opportunities is an exciting place, it's often not all it's cracked up to be.
So be prepared. "If you want to get bigger, make sure it is the best outcome for your business," says Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Think about any growth and the implications it's going to have for you and your business. How does expanding your business fit in with your business goals?
"If you decide the time is right, make the growth sensible and controlled," states Godbee in Chapter 43 of The Small Business Success Guide.
Take the time to consider exactly how your business is going to expand: is it a new team member, new premises, new production capabilities?
As Kathryn Conder, partner of executive and business mentoring firm Carnegie Management Group, adds in The Small Business Success Guide: "Companies that expand successfully have done the planning and are prepared to work hard.
"If you haven't spent the time forecasting and costing your plan, and considering the whole process, don't grow."
Wise advice!
Margie
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