The $100,000 Question

Creative Business Ideas

$100,000 bill “So, what do you think my web-based business worth?”, someone recently asked me. I questioned them about previous year’s income, expenses, traffic, page rank, and the amount of effort they put into the business.

After listening to their answer, I realized that fifty people when asked this same question, will probably provide fifty different answers, and that all of these answers are likely wrong.

What does matter is what someone is willing to pay for it.

When selling a house, for example, real estate appraisers start by looking at comparable sales in the neighborhood and adjusting the value based on the positives and negatives the home has. The number they arrive at is a historical value. Lenders require them. Real estate agents love them. Sellers try to optimize them. But the house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it

Business brokers will likewise place a value on a business based on historical earnings (which don’t guarantee future earnings), potential for growth, market niche, etc. But again, the value of the business is in the eye of the purchaser. Of course, if there are tangible assets in the business, those can be liquidated for a known value.

For a web-based business, it all comes down to perception . Is the business making money or is it likely to do so? If there’s lots of unique traffic, then there is additional possibility to make money by selling ad space.

The problem in negotiating “worth” is when there’s a discrepancy between the perception of the buyer and the seller. The buyer is looking for flaws to justify a price reduction. The seller highlights the uniqueness to justify a top price. Both want to walk away from the deal feeling like they “won”.

Instead of getting caught in the perception game, consider the cost for not buying or not selling. If you’re exhausted running the business, then what’s it worth to you to reduce your stress? How about the late nights worrying about the new competition that’s threatening to overshadow your success? When was the last time you took a vacation?

You might regret the sale or purchase, but if you did your “homework” to verify the “numbers”, and you got wise counsel to help with the transition, then everything that happened is investment in your education.

Besides death, taxes, and change, there are no guarantees in life or business.

(Since people love hearing about online businesses that “hit the lottery”, read the story about pizza.com selling for $2.6M or a story about Fund.com and Harmony.com for $10M)

Boost Your Store’s Foot Traffic For Free

Creative Business Ideas, eMarketing, Publicity

Store Queue
Photo by tata_aka_T

To get more customers into your store, make it easier for people to find your business online. Use Google’s Local Business Center to get your business listed in Google Maps, include a photo of your store, a description of your services, and even downloadable coupons for free. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and you can easily change your store listing at any time.

  1. If you don’t already have a Google account, get one here . A Google account is also a necessity for using Google Analytics, Google Pages, etc.
  2. Create your Local Business Center Account
  3. Enter your business name, street address, phone number, website, and description. While you don’t need a website, Google requires a valid street address and phone number.
  4. Categorize your business (major categories include: retail stores, organizations, business to business, entertainment, transportation, travel, education, services, health & medical, restaurants, government offices, and real estate)
  5. (Optionally) Specify your hours and payment options.
  6. (Optionally) Upload pictures of your storefront or goods.
  7. (Optionally) Add details such as keywords, price ranges, and/or areas served.
  8. Confirm your listing (either by phone or postcard).

Many Good Ideas Google Maps Listing

The more information you provide, the easier it will be for people to find you: by location, by type of your business, by the hours of your business, and even what your store looks like. Think of Local Business Center as a free online Yellow Pages listing. Make sure you highlight the key benefits of your store to attract online attention.

Of course, adding a listing alone isn’t going to make your business an overnight success. It will make your business easier to find, and is a great addition to an old-fashioned brick-and-mortar store that doesn’t have a website but does want an online presence.

This tip will help increase awareness of your store online. Getting customers to tell their friends and return back to the store is vital strategy for creating an ongoing stream of clientele.

In addition to Google, many other search engines also allow you to submit your store (in many cases for free) to their business lists: Yahoo , Super Pages , Yellow Pages , MSN , Insider Pages , Local , and City Search .

What Is A Good Name For A Childcare Party Company?

Services, Starting Out

I would like to come up with a CLASSY, professional, and warm (NOT cutesy) name for a company I am starting. We will provide programs and care (mini-parties) for children at weddings and other special events that are not child friendly so parents can enjoy themselves while still having their children with them on premises. I DO NOT want the term "kid, child, kiddie, wee, or any other "cutesy" term that many childcare companies use). I want to deal with high-end clients and want the approach and "vibe" to be that the childcare event will have the same "professionalism and class" as the adult event…just with a lot more fun for the children;) Think in terms of the great names the high-end Children’s boutiques use…

###

Jay’s Answer:

  • Inner Child Parties
  • Champagne and Punch
  • The Inner Circle
  • The Boom Boom Room

How Can We Promote Our Wildlife Conservation Park?

Clubs + Associations, Publicity

I’m looking for unique ways of promoting a wildlife conservation park to get more visitors, more members, more donations more animal adoptions and more corporate sponsors.

###

Jay’s Answer: Each of your needs requires a different strategy, but some of them will no doubt overlap.

For example, to get more visitors, identify who is your competition (zoos? animal rehab? Animal Planet? Pet stores?) and identify what’s unique/special/rewarding about going. Educational? Fun? Healing?

Members/donors require another level of involvement. What benefit will these people receive from this relationship? Will they get behind-the-scenes tours? Private parties?

Sponsors will need both visibility and core value alignment. They’ll want to know how their name will be displayed, to what demographic, etc.

Because the park doesn’t have a direct benefit (except for people that want to stay at/visit the park), you need to appeal to people who care about the animals. I volunteer with a wild animal rehab organization so I know it’s often a struggle to get sufficient funding. (donations-in-kind are easier).

How Should We Market Our Intellectual Property Company?

Publicity, Services

I work as a marketing officer in an Intellectual Property office in the Middle East, we offer services like Trademarks registration, Patents registration, copyrights, and everything related to Intellectual Property. As a marketing Dept. we depend on contacting more clients by making more visits, and that is the only Marketing Tool we use. The CHALLENGES we face are:
1- We don’t have Marketing plan / Marketing strategy.
2- We need more marketing tools to depend on.
3- Many clients are not convinced that registering their Trademarks are for their best benefit even though we try hard to deliver them the idea of the many advantages they will get when having their TM registered and the disadvantages of not registering.

###

Jay’s Answer: First, recognize that the biggest expense with intellectual property (IP) isn’t registering – it’s protection. If a small company registers a trademark and later finds another company infringing, they need to file a lawsuit. And we know that lawsuits are expensive to file and defend. Therefore, I don’t generally recommend that small businesses register their IP unless:

  • They have “deep pockets” to defend in court, and/or
  • They plan to sell their company in the foreseeable future

Intellectual property is highly valuable in valuating a company. Patents, copyrights, etc. can all become sources of licensing revenue.

Instead of making more visits, I would strongly suggest creating a series of white papers (available for free in exchange for a prospect’s contact information) detailing the pros and cons of registering their intellectual property:

  • How much revenue a company lost (or gained)
  • How companies have created new opportunities by “spinning out” licensing divisions.
  • How having copyrights, patents, etc. in a company’s marketing materials increases the perception of their value/expertise.
  • How to protect the value of their intellectual property

I would encourage you to also offer free seminars in-house as well as educating local marketing/advertising firms about the issues of IP, and encourage them to have their clients’ work protected.

How Should We Spotlight Our Hospital’s New Award?

Publicity, Services

I need an idea for branding and highlighting our new “Stroke Center of Excellence”. We are competing with another local hospital receiving the same.

###

Jay’s Answer: Congratulations on the new accolade. To include this in your marketing message, you need to consider why someone would care and what they’d do about it. If someone has a stroke, they’re not going to think about which hospital they should go to for emergency care. They’ll go to the hospital that’s either: closest and/or associated with their doctor.

Therefore, you want to focus your message on highlighting the doctors that practice at your facility. For example, list the excellent physicians that specialize in stroke intervention & prevention. The message would be, “Is your doctor on this list? If so, you’re in safe hands – these doctors will have the support of a recognized “stroke center of excellence”. If not, consider using one of them – for your loved one’s sake.”

How Can I Get Our Tax Consultancy Noticed?

Publicity, Services

I am the sales and marketing manager of a small tax consultant office. As part of our services, we also offered tax related computer applications, and tax compliance outsourcing.

It’s been hard to conviced the market about our services, they tend to accept the large players such as PwC and EY. Although we do have the experience and knowledge, since some of our people are ex PwC or EY.

We are thinking of having some kind of events or such to let people know who we are and what we can do. But we are little afraid that the events will only be a waste of resources.

###

Jay’s Answer: If they already have a tax consultant, why should someone switch to you? If they don’t why should they choose you?

If you do events, then coordinate with a local chamber of commerce (or other business organization). Best is to offer a free class about the "Top 10 Tax Problems To Avoid". During the class, offer lots of useful information. The point is two-fold: to show people that you know a lot and you can help them.

How Should We Promote Our Boutique’s 30th Anniversary?

Products, Publicity

We’re a small boutique located in the downtown of a city of 115,000. We sell business fashion to both men and women, and our average customer’s age is between 35 and 55. We rely very heavily on word-of-mouth and have a number of loyal customers who have been coming back for 20 years.

We’re nearing our 30th anniversary of the store’s opening (in about a year). This is a great milestone that we wish to leverage. We have two post-secondary institutions in our city and have ran a few seminars for the business classes on how to dress in the workplace. We’d like to target a younger audience and are searching for other ways to market to them. Our budget is not yet defined however I would greatly appreciate ANY suggestions on how to make the most of our upcoming anniversary!!

###

Jay’s Answer: Ultimately, workplace dress is mostly about success, not to make a fashion statement (for most businesses). Therefore, teach how purchasing clothing from you is really a financial investment. Conduct surveys (or find them) that show how better dressed people in the workplace get more job offers, better job offers, better pay, better professional networking, etc.

Go to where your target demographic hangs out – whether it be the local gyms, coffee shops, library, or sports arena. Connect with them there. For example, co-market with the local gyms. If people care enough to work on their body, then how much better would they look with the right business clothes?

How Can I Create A Compelling Trade Show Brochure?

Publicity, Services

I have a trade show in less than 3 weeks and am trying to develop a brochure that clearly communicates the benefits of our service in a compelling fashion.

I would like help with the messaging as well as the best approach to getting it across within the context of a brochure.

Our service aims to give franchise owners more buying power and expertise in cash management. We set up cooperative cash management groups that enable franchise owners to get better financing, investments, and banking.

The problem is it’s a completely new concept that has not been done before. What can be a complex service offering must be broken down very simply. One thing that helps is that many franchisees already work together in cooperatives for other supplies and services.

My first thought is to layout of a table with Needs and our Solutions as column headers.

Any help with messaging and its layout within a brochure is very appreciated.

###

Jay’s Answer: You need a plan to get their attention, especially since you claim you have to educate them on this new idea.

First, focus on your key benefit to them and distill it down into a headline, such as:

  • Increase Your Franchise Buying Power
  • Boost Your Franchise Bottom Line
  • Our Franchise Bank Invests In You

If the title doesn’t immediately grab them, your brochure goes into the recycle pile (i.e., "doesn’t stick")

The purpose of the brochure is to get them to contact you. You don’t need to overwhelm them with tons of text/hype. Strictly talk to their pain, and how you solve it. Make sure you have a call to action – call us for a free report/evaluation/consultation/white paper/etc.

How Can I Learn More About Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

eMarketing

I am in the process of constructing my website and have realised I know very little about SEO. I am seeking your thoughts and advice on the following:

1) Are there any easy-to-read-and-understand books or websites on the subject you could recommend?

2) Is there any simple, common sense advice you can give me, from your own experience?

###

Jay’s Answer: Search optimization is an art based on shifting sands. Everyone is trying to optimize their site based on algorithms for search engines that are constantly being tweaked to prevent "gaming".

First, a simple book to read: Search Engine Optimization for Dummies (Peter Kent).

What’s changing in the SEO scene is the area of social search marketing. Before, if you wanted to find something, you went to the big search engines and did an "impartial" search. What’s hot now is asking your "community" for recommendations, in the same way you’d find a local plumber. The social search scene is very young, and SEO experts are trying to figure out how to "game" it as well.

My suggestions is to focus on your site first. Make sure it has top-quality information, so that when you do get traffic, people immediately "get" what you’re selling, see your expertise, and convert into customers. Once you’ve got your site "good enough" (don’t get into the paralysis of trying to make it perfect from the get-go), then open the traffic doors. Yes, do the keyword optimization. Yes, understand how people who want your products/services would try to find you, and make sure you’re listed "there". And finally, your website is an island unless you build bridges from other websites (backlinks). Find other sites that you can "partner" with. Contribute articles on your expertise to article banks.