4 Assets That Can Help You Scale Your Startup

By Lisa 0

Just because you have a small-scale business operation doesn’t mean you have to forego a professional look and feel. In fact, securing a professional appearance is essential to the successes of all small businesses. Consider using these four assets to help your small business project a confident and high-level demeanor.

A Professional Phone Number

Voice over internet protocol (VOiP) is a technology that allows you to use broadband internet to make telephone calls. Using VoiP will provide you with cost savings and other advantages. One of the biggest advantages is that you can talk to your clients from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. VOiP services generally have excellent phone connections and can be bundled with other services such as voicemail, fax, caller identification, call forward, last number redial and more.

Small business owners may also consider purchasing a toll free line (subscription) to give your business further credibility.

A Professional Business Presence

Even if you’re operating out of your home, you can use a virtual office to direct mail to a real business address. The appearance of a physical business location will go a long way toward establishing the power of your brand.

Entrepreneurs have several choices in this matter. If you work completely on your own, you can share a co-working space with one or more individual. Many co-working spaces also offer mailing address only services for a fraction of the cost of having conference room and shared space access. Other options include setting up a virtual mailbox online that will provide you with a physical mailing address. Vitrual mailbox services provide alerts when it receives physical mail on your behalf,  allowing you to manage your mail online. 

A Powerful Web Presence

A website isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. However, these days it is not just enough to have a website.  You need a website that will help potential clients to identify your brand. A website with an attractive design, informational blog posts and other key elements will help establish your small business as a local authority in your industry.

A Loyal Network

You are your own biggest asset. What you know and how you keep your customers happy is, perhaps, the biggest factor in scaling your business. By providing the best possible products or services, you’ll keep customers happy.  By keeping in touch with your previous customers and bringing them back as repeat customers, you are forming a network around your small business.  Doing so can lead to word-of-mouth, or testimonial marketing, a recognized economical method of getting more customers.

Remember that every business was once a startup. The key to scaling it is to wisely use assets available to you, including your own talents. 

If you’re growing your business and need legal advice, we’re here to help! Contact us today to discuss how we can help you.

5 Game-Changing Business Tips for Entrepreneurial Immigrants

By Lisa 0

In the U.S., you have already seen plenty of active businesses everywhere. What you may not notice is that many companies fail and are replaced on a regular basis. Entrepreneurial immigrants frequently do very, very well in business-friendly locations, but they aren’t immune to harsh market forces either. Here are five essential tips for immigrants who want to start a business in a new country.

Learn the Customs

Personal hobbies and interests are different in every country. Some countries promote spending time with family, while others support more self-centered independence. Learn more about Americans to create products and services that they will need and want.

Learn the Laws

American business owners have many rules to follow if they want to remain in business. They need to obtain and renew licenses, follow safety regulations from the OSHA or FDA, and pay their taxes every year. If you’ve worked in another country, you may find hundreds of additional rules to learn and follow.

Other rules pertain to the specific type of industry. Construction workers are required to wear protective clothing, while medical professionals need certain immunizations. For every rule, also learn about the penalties, such as fines or imprisonment, for not complying.

Improve Communications

Communication is the most important field to study in business. You cannot find customers if you cannot communicate with them effectively through advertising. Furthermore, as Franchise Gator advises, you will be unable to understand the important business paperwork that you will need to read and file.The first step is to read, write, and speak better English.

There are classes for people learning English as a second language along with online learning software. Wordcounter.io includes free grammar tools that will help your written communications sound like native English. Correct all spelling and grammar errors before you advertise to customers.

Focus on Marketing

Getting in contact with customers is one of your most important tasks as a business owner. Work with American marketing professionals from the beginning. They already understand the culture, and can offer advice on everything from creating websites to building SEO content.

Get Help

There are several small business loans available specifically for entrepreneurial immigrants through the US Small Business Administration — which might be one of the reasons why 48% of overall growth of US business ownership between 2000 to 2013 was attributed to immigrant business owners, and the number of self-employed immigrants more than doubled between 1994 and 2015.

If you find yourself having difficulty securing a loan due to low collateral or other challenges, signing a “comfort agreement” may be helpful. This is an additional contract between the borrower and the lender that provides the lender with wiggle-room or recourse in the case you default on your loan.

 

You may have the money and resources, but if you don’t have basic knowledge about doing business in America, you won’t succeed. Come up with a plan on how you will gain this knowledge. Then, learn the tips that are proven to help countless entrepreneurial immigrants.