It all starts at home. You practice what you preach and you will succeed. Even in business, these words of wisdom hold true. Everyone knows you have to know your business to be good at your business, but does everyone know that your business is the test kitchen?
I believe for a business to grow from it’s inception stage, it has to grow, nurture and learn along the way. Advertising, a word, a lot of local businesses want to strike from their vocabulary, conversations and business planning is a necessary ingredient to a successful business.
“A man who stops advertising to save money, is like a man who stops the clock to save time.” Henry Ford
One must promote their business, that is a given. A logical step among the pyramid of initiatives is to create an advertising campaign. Let me list a few ideas that should be on your checklist. I hope these will stir your passion to greater heights to the success of your business.
- Budget – How much money do you want to spend on your campaign? This would be a great first step, but it would also be a great last step. You’ll be surprised on how much the summary of your between steps impact your initial answer. It’ll be an answer that makes more sense, since it has content and context.
- Time – How much time do you want to spend taking into consideration your current work load? If you’re a one man show, this decision is paramount. Just think along the mindset that if you put forth efforts that move your business forward, it is time well spent.
Let me leave you with these parting words. You can still save money on advertising if you focus on the improvements of your business as the campaign. For example, you built a website and you are getting ready to launch it. Instead of just launching it with no big announcement, build a campaign around the whole launch initiative. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned business owner, know about advertising or do not know about advertising, your business is the test kitchen. Use it wisely.