FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT IRSC
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debt, such as a credit card that charges 14
percent interest or more, figure out a way
to pay it off sooner, rather than later.
Consider taking out a business line of
credit, which now can be had at an interest
rate as low as 5 percent. At a time when
interest rates are so low, there is no reason
to continue paying high rates, especially
if your company is doing well enough to
qualify for a low interest financial product.
If you need real estate for your company or
you need to purchase equipment, consider
an SBA 504 loan. The Florida SBDC @ IRSC
can help you with your bank loan preparation
and your business plan for the bank.
5. Consider adding dimension to your
growth plan.
When was the last time you expanded
your business offerings? Perhaps it is time
to introduce a new product or expand
your services offerings. Look for ways of
expanding your revenue streams from
the customers you already have (organic
growth), which can be easier and less
costly than acquiring new customers
altogether.
If you are thinking about exporting or
going into government contracting, the
Florida SBDC at IRSC has programs that
can help you with that.
6. How’s your SEO? Give it some love
this year.
In our social-centric world, it’s easy to
focus all of your digital efforts on social
media. But it’s your website that is the
core of your digital world. It’s important
to prioritize building a strong organic
web presence with organic search engine
optimization. Consider hiring an expert
to evaluate your site for SEO. You can
resolve to drive more traffic to your site
by creating content around keywords that
are related to your business. Start a blog
and put a healthy Q&A on your site. In the
process, you are showing your expertise in
the industry and can provide value to your
potential customers in the content you
serve them.
There’s no easy button for digital marketing,
but make it a priority.
7. Take your PR strategy to the next
level.
In today’s world, public relations can
include media relations, marketing communications,
social media, corporate communications,
speech writing and event
planning. Even corporate social responsibility
can be part of your PR strategy. And
you don’t have to have a big-company
budget for it.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
• If you are a very small company, start to
nurture media relationships. You could
start with a blogger, comment on their
blogs and volunteer to write a guest post.
• Use your data ethically and write good
rich content on your social media or blog.
If that isn’t your forte, consider hiring
a content writer for their blog or social
media.
• Start formulating a plan and communications
strategy, even if you are a very small
company. You want each of your team to
say the same thing.
• If you are going to outsource PR, contract
it out completely so there is consistency.
Be on top of it and have weekly meetings
to talk about the messages you want to
get out. >>
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