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Idaho SBDC Helps Business Increase Revenue by 30%

April 2, 2014

Bullet Tools began in a garage in 1998 with a simple idea born of necessity – a longtime flooring installer, Dalen Gunn, decided there had to be a better way to cut flooring and launched the MAGNUM Shear.

From its humble beginnings, Bullet Tools has evolved into a major U.S. manufacturer and world leader in innovative flooring, siding and insulation cutting solutions. Its mission is to “Continually improve the lives and livelihoods of tradesmen across the globe by providing cutting edge solutions.”

The Idaho Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helped the company create its first business plan and obtain initial financing. When the company began to struggle in 2006, SBDC consulting recommended the owners attend a workshop called “Entrepreneurial Leadership Training.” The workshop, combined with consulting services, resulted in a 30 percent increase in revenue and improved warehouse capacity the following year.

“The class offered more than information,” said President and CEO Ben Toews. “It offered interaction with others that shared the same challenges and concerns that we were experiencing.” (more…)

3 Ways to Showcase Your Products for Better Online Sales

March 31, 2014

The online marketplace has become an increasingly competitive as more and more people turn to the Internet for its ease of use, convenience, and enormous selection of products. Sure, getting online and showcasing your products is an easy way to reach and attain new customers, but sabotaging your own sales is easy, too, if you don’t give your products the spotlight they deserve.

When a customer visits your website, you only have a few minutes to grab their attention. That’s why it’s so important to take the time to display and describe your products in a way that helps your site do its job – churning out sales like crazy. To get the most out of your online business, consider these three ways to showcase your products for better online sales:

1. Divide and Conquer
You might have the best products on the market, but if they aren’t organized properly, you could scare your customers away with choice overload. Imagine grocery shopping at a supermarket that doesn’t have aisles grouping like food items together. It would be an exhausting headache! Do your customers a favor and categorize your products so it’s easier for them to find what they’re looking for. (more…)

Success Story: Washington

March 26, 2014

State: Washington
Center: Washington State
Network Client: NorthSound Productions

Lake Stevens, Wash. — You get what you negotiate, not what you deserve, and Abe Martinez was not a good negotiator. After Workforce Development of Snohomish County found out what he planned to charge for doing a short video to highlight one of their programs, they withdrew the offer.

That’s not sustainable, they told him. Go do some market analysis, figure out what other people are charging and come back with a higher number. It was good advice, but the next piece of advice was even better: Go talk to Peter Quist at the Washington Small Business Development Center in Lynnwood.

Martinez’s last full-time job in broadcast journalism had ended in 2006 and — despite his drive and resourcefulness — he’d been underemployed for the past four years, a casualty of the recession and upheavals in media markets. Martinez was offered the video project by Workforce because he’d already done one video for them pro bono. As a participant in WorkSource Snohomish County, he had begun doing volunteer projects as a way to network and get his work in front of potential employers. (more…)

Understanding the Power of Creating Sharable Content

March 25, 2014

When I found out that one of my favorite bakeries was about to open a new location in my neighborhood, my first reaction was to jump on Facebook to share the news. Guess what? My post got 11 likes, and 7 comments.

Think about the power of this dynamic. Before social media, I’d have to wait until I gathered with a group of friends to share the news (if I remembered at the time). Today, thanks to my mobile device, I can easily share the news with my Facebook friends in real time.

Many of my Facebook friends either live or work in the same area, and have similar tastes—which makes them great prospects for that new bakery. Based on the level of engagement with the original post I shared, that information will spread beyond my immediate connections. Pretty cool, right?

This type of social sharing goes beyond our offline experiences. Consider how much information is now available to us online, and how easy it is to share the content that resonates with us most with a simple click. People are sharing content they find valuable. Content they believe their connections may have an interest in. And for all these reasons content is something you can’t ignore when it comes to your business getting found online. (more…)

Learn to use hashtags like a pro: Friday 15 – Small Business Tips

March 24, 2014

Friday 15: Small Business Tips, is a series designed to help small businesses like yours make the most of their online presence. If you missed our February post about email marketing, check it out here.

Today, I’m talking hashtags. You see them everywhere: on websites, social media sites, and even on television, radio and in print. I decided to dedicate this post to the wonderful pound symbol, so you can start using it as part of your business’s social media strategy. #Enjoy.

Lesson Highlight: Hashtag basics: Connect to customers on social media

A hashtag is word or phrase prefixed with a pound, or hash, symbol (#), typically used in a social media post. For example, #Friday15 is a hashtag. Hashtags organize messages by topic. People can search for a hashtag to see all associated messages. You can use hashtags to target messages to specific groups of people interested in particular topics.

For example, let’s say you own a coffee shop. When posting a photo of your lovely caramel latte on a social media site, you include the hashtag #coffee. Now, people tracking #coffee will see your post. This provides exposure for your business and helps position you as an authority on the topic. (more…)