10 steps to starting a business

Businesses are not an easy task, but it makes it a lot easier if you have a great idea. This short blog will give you a couple of simple steps to help you get your business off the ground and headed toward success. Once you have the idea for a business follow these steps to turn the idea into reality.

1. Come up with a name for the business.
2. Next you need a logo.

• Sites like www.logomaker.com can be a great source to give you some ideas and they have lots of pre-designed logos. 
• If you have a little extra cash and can pay a freelance graphic designer between $100-$200 bucks for a logo that is an even better option because then it becomes more personal.

     3.Then start writing your business plan there are lots of great tools to help write and structure your business plan. Check out www.sba.gov/tools/business-plan/1

     4. Once you have a plan in place begin validating your idea by asking friends, families, and strangers if they would buy, or use your product or service.

     5. Get a prototype of product, website, or equipment needed for the product or service

     6. Register the business

      7. Set up bank account

      8. Get final products and or services ready for market

      9. Begin marketing the product or service (Social media, trade shows, online ads, etc.)

      10. Most important START SELLING!

Remember to keep revising the business plan and business model as you continue to grow. Once you start selling and are growing really fast there are always options to seek out an investment or financing. There are tons of entrepreneurs and it is a perfect time to start a business. If you have questions or comments please leave them below.

Thanks for reading
Sincerely,



SalesFinch

StartSLC.com Tech Startup Pitch Competition

I need to take a moment to write some exciting news on my blog about an event that will be happening in Utah January 2015.  This is an amazing opportunity, and the event is called StartSLC.

The event will take place from January 29th-31st the 3 day event will showcase some of Utah's greatest tech companies and entrepreneurs. There will be tons of activities to attend during the 3 day events that will bring together the community of hackers, designers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and many others from within the Salt Lake City community. This event will help everyone build relationships with other entrepreneurs, business people, techies, and it will just be an amazing event for everyone in the community.

We all know that Utah is a big place for Tech start ups and this is just another event that will make tech start ups even more prevalent in Utah.

But here is the biggest news! At the event there will be a Pitching competition where tech start ups will have the opportunity to pitch their start up to a panel of judges that consist of Venture capitalists. The winner of the pitching event will win $150,000 dollars, the runner up will win $50,000, and the audience favorite will receive $50,000 dollars that's a total of $250,000 dollars given away at this event.

You do not want to miss this amazing event, whether you will be a spectator or a contestant. If you would like to apply for the pitch competition go to startslc.com and register by Dec. 15th 2014 for a chance at winning part of the $250,000 dollars prize money.

GOOD LUCK

Linkedin Networking

If you are reading this blog you may or may not have a LinkedIn account. If you don't I recommend getting one. You may be thinking I don't need to network or I am not looking for a new job or I am a stay at home mom/dad. Well no matter what your excuse you need a LinkedIn account and here is why......

LinkedIn is the largest professional social networking site, which allows users to connect with people they never thought they could connect with. If you know Bob well Bob may know 500 more people and so on, you can build quiet the group of connections on LinkedIn. With those connections lead to other life opportunities like new job opportunities, volunteer events, social events, you name it and LinkedIn can help you reach new opportunities that would have never been possible without LinkedIn. Here are some simple easy steps to help grow you network with LinkedIn starting form the beginning:

1. Create a LinkedIn account for Free at www.LinkedIn.com
2. Use a good picture that shows your face well (No family pictures, kissy faces, etc.) Keep it simple
3. Update all of your information to the best of your knowledge. The more of your profile filled out the easier it will become to connect with people with similar interests.
4. Log on to LinkedIn a couple times a week if not every day take 2-3 minutes to go over the LinkedIn feed. Lots of great simple article on the feed.
5. Try to connect with 3-5 new people each day, in time you will grow your network to thousands of people.
6. Don't be afraid to post something like a motivational quote that you like
7. Don't be afraid to message people in your network if you have a question for them like if they know of any positions in their company or if they ever need your service to message you.

These are 7 simple things you can do to grow your LinkedIn network that will begin to benefit you year after year. It is so easy and simple and anyone can do it you don't have to be outgoing and a extreme people person to be good at LinkedIn.

So log on and get networking!

Thank you for Reading



SalesFinch

Networking Tips

Have you ever been apart of a networking group or attended a networking event? If you have you may love it or you may get nervous about it. Networking groups or events can be a little nerve racking for a lot of people because it takes them out of their comfort zone and forces them to meet new people and talk about themselves. For some people it is just second nature to network, for those people you are lucky and keep up the great work. For those who struggle with networking her are some key points to help you succeed at networking so you can succeed at business.

Here are some key points to remember when networking:

• You are building relationships that will last
• You need to make yourself visible, Let people know who you are
• Practice Networking, the more you try networking the better you get at it (Practice Makes Perfect)
• Diversify your network, network with all types of people be as diverse as possible
• Maintain your network, Make sure you follow up with your network by phone, or email.
• Give to others, the more referrals you give the more you will get back

These are a couple of main points to help focus on when networking and building the networking relationships. I am part of a BNI networking group and it really is neat to meet other people and gain relationships and then give referrals as well as receive them. We are all in business to make money and we can all help each other in one way or another. If we work together we can all be successful.

Tip: If you are super shy and have no idea how you could ever network or strike up a conversation come up with 3 to 5 interesting points that you can bring up to talk about when meeting someone new. It can be something as simple as this is crazy weather we've been having and then talk about the weather. If you are prepared before hand it will help you become a good networker.

Networking all begins by opening your mouth and saying who you are.

Please check back next week for more from SalesFinch

Investigating Customer Needs and Wants

Its a rainy Saturday morning here in my home town and you can really tell fall is coming soon. But on to the topic of the day, Investigating the Customer Needs and Wants. Every customer you deal with in sales has different needs and wants. Some customers will want a leather coach that is brown, others will want the latest coach that reclines, has built in massagers, and everything in between. Everyone is different so that is why the investigation stage is so important, in order to help customers find the right product and make the sale.

When investigating you need to focus these 3 things:

• Find out facts
• Find out information
• Find out needs

If you follow these three things, it will help you find the customers hot buttons. Customers only care about 20% of the features of a product, but everyone's 20% is different so that is why investigation is so important. Here are some examples of investigation questions if you are selling carpet or flooring.

• What kind of project do you have going on remodel, new construction, or just new flooring?
• Are you looking for something with lighter or darker color tones?
• What color are your walls, cabinets, etc?
• Is it a high traffic area?

By asking questions like this no matter the product it will help you as a salesperson know what to show the customer and what will be best for their needs, but it will make life a lot easier for yourself because you won't have to try and guess what they want. Open you mouth and ask questions is the best and easiest thing you can do to lead a customer through the sales cycle and to the closing of the sale.

Thank you for reading another post from SalesFinch

Customer Service is a key to success

Customer service is one of those things that is talked about daily in any business whether you are selling ice cream cones or multimillion dollar products, customer service is key. The customer Hires you, they can fire you, and they pay you. So it is important that we handle our customers with care.

If we handle our customers with care we stand a better chance of growing the business than if we handled our customers with terrible care. People like to buy things from people and places that give them the best service. One great example of great customer service would be Chick-fil-a they have their whole company built around customers, and the customers needs and wants. They are all so nice and willing to serve you, and if you say "Thank You" they will always reply with "My Pleasure." Its a southern based company out of Georgia so I guess they have just brought the southern hospitality into the franchise model and executed it amazingly across the country. I am a Chick-fil-a customer because of their great food and their great service and clean facilities.

On the other hand if you handle customers poorly you are likely to never see them again, and probably never see their friends or family ever again as well. One unhappy customer can take a lot of your current customers away because of word of mouth and online reviews in todays world. I had a bad experience with customer service at a restaurant once in Heber, Utah. It was so bad I was blown away that they were still in business (It went out of business a couple months after we ate there). But if it was still in business I would never go back there ever again even if I was starving, the service was that bad.

Now if you are reading this blog I would like to extend an invitation to everyone. Take a moment to type in the comments companies you've had good customer service experiences with and also your experiences of bad customer service.

Thank you

NEVER QUIT, NEVER GIVE UP!

As I was scrolling through LinkedIn this morning, which I do everyday. I came across this great quote by Michael Jordan "If you quit once it becomes a habit, NEVER QUIT", and it just got me thinking about quitting and how we should always push on and never quit.

Life is hard whether it is work circumstances, family issues, world issues, you name it and you will find hardships and the many challenges in life. But the real challenge to the trials and hardships of life are that we have to push on never giving up to win the fight. Since this quote is by Michael Jordan lets talk about him for a moment. Michael Jordan is one the best basketball players of all time, he was absolutely amazing whether you like the Bulls or not you have to give respect to Michael Jordan. You probably know that Michael was cut from his high school basketball team. Yet he never quit and he pushed on and became one of the best basketball players ever. Once he had decided not to quit it was all upwards for him because it became a habit not to quit and to push himself even harder. His trials and hardships made him stronger and one of the best.

We can learn a lot from Michael for never quitting, we will be challenged in life, if you are starting a business for example and it fails, do you quit trying to fulfill your dream. NO! You get right back up and try again and learn from your mistakes. We need to take our short falls as learning experiences to push us to be better and help us, so we  don't make the same mistake twice. NEVER GIVE UP, is something my father always told me growing up so when I am faced with something hard and I want to quit I always remember those words NEVER GIVE UP!

Life is full of surprises, but just remember to NEVER QUIT, and NEVER GIVE UP, there is to many great things that come after the hard times or trials. Let us all push onwards and upwards.