Smart Business

(ARA) - Creativity is the key to keeping a small business flourishing in tight economic times. And while creativity will make your business grow stronger, there are also other free tools and opportunities small businesses should use to their advantage.

Many resources are available for small business owners to develop a plan for success, says "Mr. AllBiz" Steve Strauss, author of "The Small Business Bible." He shares some of his tips here:

* Make your small business appear big.
You might not have a huge warehouse or more than a dozen employees, but you can still give your business the professional appearance of one 10 times your size. First impressions are important. Print some professional-looking business cards and pass them out, design a great logo for your company and put that logo on a sign where everyone can see it.

Develop a Web site, and see if you can get it linked to your community's Chamber of Commerce or city Web site. Join social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to broaden your network of people who know who you are and what you do.

* Get free help.
Organizations like the Small Business Administration and SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" exist to provide assistance. They can give you help specifically tailored to your business. Also, retail organizations are creating tools for small business owners to find additional resources. For example, Office Depot has created "The Survival of the Smartest" Web site as part of its Small Business Self-Bailout Plan.

Included on the site at www.TheSurvivalOfTheSmartest.com, are weekly videos with smart tips, special product and service offers, small business resource tools, up-to-date news provided through feeds from small business Web sites and blogs, promotions specifically for businesses and expert advice on topics like how to connect your wireless network, how to save money while greening your office, information security and more.

* Focus on your X Factor.
Recognize what you do and why you do it, and then research your competition. When you discover the factor that makes your business better and different from the competition, learn how to focus and multiply that "X Factor" to achieve success.

If you have a smart survival strategy that has helped your small business get through these tough times, you can enter the Office Depot Adopt a Small Business Contest. The company will recognize 500 small businesses nationwide for their smart survival strategies and award them each with more than $2,000 in Office Depot gift cards, tech support for a year and copy, print and shipping services. That’s $1 million in bailout money available. To enter, upload an original 2-minute video starting June 1 that explains the smart things your business is doing to survive these challenging times to TheSurvivalOfTheSmartest.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent
 

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