Whew! Tax deadlines have passed and so has all the stress of getting your filing in on time. Now is the fun part of waiting for that tax rebate money that will soon be coming to most filers. Those rebates for 2007 taxes will be $600 – $1,200, and some families with children possibly getting even more. And they are already in the mail. Which means this is the perfect time to decide where that money will go.
Now, our government is hoping we shop ’til we drop and stimulate the good ‘ole US economy. And most of us will. But how about taking some time to figure out how to grow your business with your spending this year.
Here are some 5 suggestions for starting your own economic stimulus package with a bright shiny $1,000 check from Uncle Sam:
1) Generate leads with an online pay-per-click campaign. The great thing about pay-per-click online campaigns is that you can see the results. Say you put your $1,000 toward a new campaign and you managed to get your cost-per-click to about $1. That’s 1,000 new customers taking a look at your business. And suppose a fourth of them are converted into paying customers. That’s 250 new customers. Wow.
2) Get Your Operations Organized. Save some of that money to make sure your business is running as efficiently as possible. According to a Reuters Study, “Of Managers surveyed, 49% feel they are often unable to handle the volumes of information received; 38% waste substantial time trying to locate information; and 47% say collection of information distracts from their main job responsibilities.” Where are the inefficiencies in your office? Invest in plugging up those leaks of valuable time and money.
3) Sharpen Your Saw. I love Steven Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Number 7 is “Taking the time to sharpen the saw”. And, basically it is the concept that if you are a woodsman chopping wood all day, you must stop occasionally and sharpen the saw, or else your ability to cut would will start to diminish, and eventually you will be completely ineffective. As business people we too must sharpen our saw. For $1,000 you could take a class or two from one of the many online education websites such The Small Business Association , Skill Path or World Wide Learn.
4) Update Your Website. As we all know, the sky is the limit when designing your company’s website. Browsing the web will show you that each website has a personality of its own. What is your site telling your customers about you? $1,000 can be put toward updating your website to CLOSE MORE SALES, add some interesting information about your company, a way of collecting emails and new prospects online, or simply a snappy new look.
5) Motivate Your Staff. Plan a staff motivational party where you provide the staff with a budget and let them plan what they would like to do. If the rules are “no shop talk allowed”, then everyone should have an opportunity to bond as a team and have fun. Happy people work harder, and you’ll enjoy getting to know your staff more too. With $1K you can set yourself up for the whole year and your staff can look forward to quarterly celebrations.