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Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

Blog for starting, running, and growing your business | Solo.co

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In this article:\nWhy use Instagram for business\nHow to set up and claim your business Instagram account\nWhat to post on Instagram\nEighty percent of Instagram’s one billion users follow at least one business on their Instagram account. They enjoy the aesthetically pleasing content that brands tend to share on this channel, and feel more connected to brands they like.  \nWith so many potential customers on Instagram, this platform provides tons of opportunities for your business to increase awareness of your brand and improve your online visibility. \nWhy use Instagram for your business?\nMore people join Instagram every year. This popular social media channel is the perfect way for consumers to relax and pass time as they check out fun and inspiring images and engage with their favorite brands. \nSome advantages that Instagram can provide your business:\nAny size business can be successful on Instagram\nThere are about 1 billion active Instagram users worldwide daily\nLocal advertising functionality can help you reach targeted audiences\nYou can partner with influencers to share your brand and gain more awareness\nEasily engage with customers through comments, polls, and direct messaging\nMobile users are more frequently on Instagram than any other social media channel\nMonitor competitors’ Instagram accounts to see how they engage their followers\nBoost sales by showcasing new products and services\nGet feedback from consumer polls and collect data to improve your business\nHow to set up your business Instagram account\nNow that you know some ways Instagram can help your business, let’s dive in. Follow these steps to set up your business Instagram account. \n1. Download the app or go to the Instagram website\nFirst, you’ll need to go to Instagram’s platform. You can download the mobile app on your phone or tablet, or you can go to Instagram.com in any web browser. \nFrom there, you’ll need to sign up for a new account. \n(Image)\n\n2. Sign up for Instagram\nContinue the signup process by clicking “Sign up” and entering in all of the required information. You are given the option to “Log in with Facebook,” but this is really only a good option for personal accounts. (For those who aren’t aware, Facebook owns Instagram.)\nFor a business account, you’ll want to keep it separate from personal Facebook accounts so anyone that you need to can have access to the account. \nEnter a mobile number or email (one of these will be used to verify the account), the name of your business, a username, and a password. Then click “Sign up.”\n(Image)\n\nVerify your phone number or email next. You’ll receive a 6-digit code that you need to confirm in order to finish setting up your account. \n(Image)\n\n3. Switch to a business Instagram account. \nNow that you’ve created an account, you’ll want to make sure you change the settings so your profile appears as a business account. You’ll need to log in to the mobile app to do this. \nWhen you’re there, click the user icon on the bottom right corner of the app. \n(Image)\n\nNext, click the menu icon in the top right of your screen and navigate to your settings. \n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nAfter that, click “Account”… \n(Image)\n\n…and then go to “Switch to Professional Account.”\n(Image)\n\nFrom there, you will be prompted to select a “Creator” account or a “Business” account. As a small business, we urge you to select business to gain the best opportunities for your brand. \n(Image)\n\nThen you’ll be directed to a series of screens that let you know what a business account can do for you. Click “Continue” through each of the next four slides. \n(Image)\n\nNext, select the best category for your business. Scroll through the list or search for the most relevant category that represents your business. \n(Image)\n\nThen you’ll want to add your business’s contact information: email, phone number, and address. If you have a business cell phone, that would be the best number to associate with the account. \nYou don’t have to display your contact information, but the more places this is accessible, the more opportunities you have for customers to get in touch with your business. \n(Image)\n\nAfter you’ve updated your information, it’s time to connect to your business Facebook page. Facebook and Instagram advertising are integrated together, so you’ll want to make sure to link these two accounts. \nDon’t have a Facebook page for your business? Check out our guide: \nHow to create and claim your Facebook business page\nYou will need to be an admin of your business Facebook page in order to connect it to your Instagram account, and when you select “Choose Page” you’ll be prompted to log into your personal Facebook account to see the pages that you are an admin on. \nSelect your business page and click “Done.” \nYou can also link your Instagram account from your Facebook page on a desktop computer if someone else is the admin or if you want to do this at a later time.\n(Image)\n\nNow you officially have a business Instagram account! But there are a couple more things you’ll want to do to really complete your profile. \n4. Complete your profile\nNow you need to add a profile photo, bio, and your website in order to complete your business’s Instagram profile. \nTo add a profile photo, go back to your profile and click the “+” on the profile icon in the top left of your screen. \nFrom there, select “Add Profile Photo” and “New Profile Photo.” \nA company logo is usually the best picture to use here because it helps to reinforce your brand. \n(Image)\n\nWhen you have your profile photo added, go back to your profile and select “Edit Profile.”\nThis is where you can update your bio and website. Add your website into the appropriate field. And then add a short description of your business into the bio section. \nThen click the checkmark in the top right corner, and your profile is officially complete!\n(Image)\n\n5. Add content\nYou have signed up for Instagram, switched to a business account, and completed your profile. Now it’s time to start posting. \nGet some beautiful images together of products or employees on the job and start tracking engagement. \nMost businesses post on Instagram between 1 and 3 times each day. Try to set a goal for your business and select an employee who can keep up with the posts. \nRead on to learn more about what kinds of things you should post. \nWhat kind of content should businesses post on Instagram?\nInstagram is a creative platform, so be sure to get creative with your posts. Professional photos and videos will go a long way here. \nTo get help you get started, we’ve put together this small list of ideas that your business can use to post on Instagram:\nNew products and services\nDiscounts and deals\nEmployee features\nCustomer features\nInspirational images and quotes\nMemes\nContests/giveaways\nCelebrations for your business (anniversaries, milestones reached)\nTrending hashtag posts (#NationalDoughnutDay anyone?)\nBehind the scenes photos and videos\nUpcoming events\nHoliday posts\nGet creative and have fun with it!\nThere are so many ways that small businesses can take advantage of Instagram and find success on this platform. You just need to determine your goals for your business’s Instagram account and start working toward those.

How to create an Instagram account for your business

In this post:\nHow many customers actually leave reviews online?\nWhat motivates your customers to leave a review?\nHow to get reviews from more customers\nWhat about customers who don’t leave reviews no matter what?\nIn today’s always online world, it feels like everyone has an opinion to share and an online megaphone to share it with. But while it’s true that everyone \ndoes\n have an opinion, fewer people share them online than some might realize.\nFor anyone who owns their own business, even  microbusinesses, sole proprietors, freelancers, gig workers, content creators, solopreneurs, etc., this should come as no surprise. Getting consistent reviews can feel like a monumental task for even the hottest spot in town. All too often it can feel like after spending your week helping hundreds of happy customers, you’ll still only end up with a handful of 1 star reviews.\nThe power and importance of online review sites is growing. So what can you do? Let’s start by looking at how people behave online.\nHow many customers actually leave reviews on review sites?\nGetting a review from a happy customer might sound easy on the surface. But the truth is, a customer has several hurdles to clear before posting a review.\nFirst, you have to make the customer happy (the easy part). Next, you have to hope they already have an account set up for a review site. Don’t bank on even the happiest customer taking the time to set up a new account just for you.\nFinally, even if the customer already has an account on a review site, it’s unlikely they write reviews for \nany \nbusiness.\nIn a study about online user behavior, \nJakob Nielsen named this phenomenon “the 90-9-1 rule.”\n Put simply, the rule states:\n90% of online users are lurkers (they read or observe, but don’t contribute)\n9% of users contribute intermittently\n1% of users participate a \nlot\n and account for most contributions\nThe 90-9-1 rule is familiar to anyone who works in social media marketing or related fields, but what does it \nreally\n mean? Does it mean that only 1% of your customers are likely to leave a review of your business?\nNot quite.\nWhich customers are likely to leave a review of your business?\nTo learn more about how the 90-9-1 rule and how it might impact local businesses, we decided to reach out to \nBill Johnston\n, an online community expert and the founder of \nStructure3C\n, who gave us some valuable insight pulled from his over 20 years of experience.\nHere’s what Bill had to say:\n“The 90-9-1 rule is one of the most often quoted and misunderstood ‘rules of thumb’ for social.\nFar too many people hear the rule and then assume, “Okay, so only 1% or 9% of my customers are the ones who will leave a review of my pizza place.” Which isn’t the case. \nThe 90-9-1 rule tells us 1% of users online generate a ton of the internet’s content, but to think that only 1% or 9% of your customers are willing to leave a review of your business misses the point of Nielsen’s findings and sets you up for failure.\nThe fact is, there are 2 sets of motivating factors for people to contribute online:\n1) Intrinsic — When the customer is motivated by altruism. They had a good experience, or liked you personally, or simply want to help other “people like them” find something great.\n2) Extrinsic — When the user is acknowledged, rewarded or compensated\nGoing even deeper, though, I believe one of the following experiences is what motivates a customer to leave a review: \nThey’re really \nfrustrated\nThey’ve been \ndelighted\nThey \ngenuinely want to help\n others\nThey \nfeel passionate about the topic or product\n, and see themselves as a tastemaker\nThey are \ncompensated or rewarded\nMy advice to local businesses would be to think less about the 90-9-1 rule and more about how likely their customers are to have one of the types of experiences above.”\nWhat to do if you’re having a hard time getting reviews from your customers\nAs Bill explained above, it’s important for business owners to be aware of the 90-9-1 rule. But it’s even more important to understand what it means. \nYes, the majority of your customers will be online ‘lurkers,’ and thus unlikely to leave a review of your business. Still, you should always start by thinking about\n \nwhy\n a customer would leave a review.\nTake Bill’s motivators above and then ask yourself these questions about them:\nWhen and why are my customers feeling frustrated, and can I head off that frustration turning into a bad review?\nWhen and why are my customers feeling delighted, and are there things I can do to help them share their delight? \nWhy might a customer feel motivated to help me or my business?\nWho would feel passionate about my business and why? Are there connoisseurs who want to be associated with your brand, or be seen as an insider for discovering or promoting your business?\nIt’s against the rules to buy or offer something in exchange for reviews, but how can I show customers how leaving a review could result in a better customer experience?\nStarting with customer motivators is an extremely effective way to put your business in a position to get reviews. Use them as methods to identify areas for improvement or emphasis. \nThis will help you find even more success when following our tips on \nhow to get more reviews\n for your business like: using signage, making verbal requests, creating direct links to your review sites, and replying to all your reviews.\nPlus, recent research shows that businesses that regularly respond to their online business reviews earn more revenue!\nWhat about customers who still won’t leave a review of your business?\nWhile the 90-9-1 rule is often misunderstood and misused, it does still contain helpful insights. For example, no matter how hard you try, there will always be a significant number of users who simply will not leave a review online. \nBut just because a customer doesn’t want to leave a review doesn’t mean they don’t want you to know about their experience. And, of course, few things are more valuable to a business owner than understanding their customers.\nAnother helpful takeaway from the 90-9-1 rule is that you can’t rely on online reviews to understand how your customers actually feel. It’s why big businesses spend millions to survey and analyze their customers to know what’s working and what’s not. \nIt’s also why every small, local business should have a system to get direct feedback from all of their customers. Whether they’re someone who will leave an online review or not.\nWhy direct feedback works\nDirect feedback avoids many of the hurdles that prevent customers from posting on review sites. Signing up for an account, privacy issues, and not wanting to attach reviews to a personal profile — none of these prevent a customer from submitting direct feedback about their experience. \nYou’ll also find customers are more willing to provide “feedback” about their experience than a “review” of your business.\nDirect feedback can help prevent potential negative reviews\nMany business owners can testify—few things will motivate a customer to leave an online review like a negative experience. Providing an avenue for direct feedback can go a long way to prevent that.\nYes, some customers take to review sites simply to air grievances. But many others feel it’s their only option to resolve a bad experience. Instead, giving a direct feedback option gives an upset customer a much more effective method to share their frustrating experience with you. \nSome customers will ultimately still take to review sites, but you’ll be surprised at how many more would much prefer to “take it offline.”\nDirect feedback can lead to more good reviews\nA good direct feedback program can also help bring in more positive reviews for your business.\nFirst, it helps all your customers feel valued, listened to, and respected. Few things are more frustrating for customers than a business who takes them for granted. The simple act of asking “how was your experience today?” speaks volumes.\nSecond, gathering as much feedback as possible gives you a better idea about what is and is not working. This can help you focus on expanding the most popular parts of your business and improve areas causing frustration.\nFinally, if you’re using a direct feedback program that involves two-way communication (via email, etc), you can respond to positive feedback with a direct link to your review sites. Which makes it easier than ever for your happiest customers to leave you a review.

Why most of your customers don’t leave reviews of your business (and what to do about it)

In this article:\nWhy you need a blog for your small business \nDo’s of writing an effective small business blog \nDon’ts of writing a blog for your business\nBlogging can be an important facet of any content marketing campaign. From providing value, to attracting new customers, to helping your website show up better online, there are several ways that writing a blog can help even truly small businesses. \nAs you begin planning your blog strategy, you should keep a few things in mind along the way. There are right and wrong ways to blog, so let’s go over what those are and discuss how to get started. \nWhy you should consider using a blog to help market your small business\nStarting a blog for your small business can provide several benefits for your online marketing, SEO, and customer experience. \nBlogging can improve search engine visibility\nBlogging is a great way to enhance your search engine visibility, or in other words, \nSEO for your small business\n. Google and other search engines place a high value on fresh, new content on websites and social media. \nPosting regular content shows Google that your website isn’t stagnant and that you are trying to provide constant value to your (and by extension Google’s) users. \nA quality blog positions you as an expert in your field\nWhen you write blog articles on your website, they help set you apart as an expert in your field. Your blog articles should be relevant to your industry and help others to learn more about it. \nA good blog will provide value for your readers and current customers\nAlong with making you the expert, a blog helps to provide additional value to your customers–like how to use your products or additional information about your services. \nA blog can increase traffic to your website and social profiles\nAs you post your blog articles and share them on your social profiles, they provide more opportunities for you to increase traffic to your website and social channels. This can also help your search engine visibility as more people find and view your blogs. \nThe do’s of writing an effective small business blog\nSeveral things are necessary for writing a good blog post beyond just the writing itself. You need to have it well-organized and easy to read and consume. \nFollow these do’s for writing a blog to give yourself the best opportunities to succeed. \nHave a clear focus\nEach article you write should have a definite focus. Before writing any blog article, think about the topics that would best benefit your customers and readers. \nRather than try to cover too much, choose a specific topic for each article to keep your readers engaged and help them easily follow the article.  \nUse relevant headings and subheadings\nAll blog articles should be easy to read and follow. One thing that makes for better readability is separating the different sections of the article by using headings and subheadings. \nMost people have low attention spans when it comes to reading through large blocks of text, so using headings to help break the article up will allow them to easily scan it to see what it is about. And then if they choose to dive deeper and read the full article, they have that option. \nThis technique also helps with SEO, as your H1/H2/H3 tags help search engines determine what your blog is about. Learn more in our article about \nfree tips for better SEO rankings\n.\nPost updates frequently\nIf you are going to start a blog for your small business, you should commit to a blogging schedule. Posting frequently and consistently will be important, especially if you start picking up regular readers. A good beginning goal to shoot for is 1-3 articles per month. \nDetermine what your team is capable of handling and work up from there. (More is generally better, but make sure every post is valuable and relevant.)\nLook for keyword opportunities\nYour blog is a great place to try ranking for new keywords, especially long-tail phrases. Long-tail phrases are the longer phrases people type when searching for something online. They are usually 5 or more words. \nSome examples of long-tail phrases are “how to write a blog for small businesses” or “where to find the best restaurants in NYC.”\nStrategically plan keywords that each of your blog posts could go after and then stick to that plan as you write your articles. \nUse effective, high-quality images\nImages help enhance your blog posts. People are visual by nature, so adding a compelling image to your blog post will help grab their attention and keep them interested throughout the article. \nLearn more in our \nguide to getting professional-quality photography for your small business\n.\nChoose your blog article length strategically\nA blog article is drastically different from a social media post. On social media, it’s important to keep your posts very short and to the point. But blog articles can (and should) go a little more in-depth and provide additional value. \nMore and more frequently, we are finding that long-form blog posts perform better on Google. They provide more value to users by answering their questions within one post. Long-form blog posts can range from 800-2500 words (and sometimes more). \nThe important thing here is to make sure you provide a well-rounded article that stays to the point. If you can write everything your customers need to know in 500 words, that’s great. Don’t try to stretch it out to get a certain word count. \nAnd if you feel you need to keep adding additional sections and the article starts to creep beyond 2500 words, the subject may merit being separated into multiple, more specific articles. \nReview, review, review\nWe cannot express enough how important the review process is for your blog. After each blog post is written it is crucial to have another set of eyes (preferably multiple sets) review the article for any misguided facts, spelling, layout problems, non-functional links, grammatical errors, etc. \nYour blog is an extension of your brand and represents your business. Make sure it represents you well. \nPromote your blog articles\nOnce your articles are written, it’s important to share them everywhere you can. Share your content across all of your social channels and be sure to include keyword-rich anchor text links back to your blog. \n(For example if you want your business to rank well in searches for local pet services businesses, you would select some keywords and use those as the “anchor text” to your article, thus: \nlocal pet services\n.)\nYou may even decide that some blog articles are important enough to boost as a paid ad on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. That’s a great way to get more readers for your blog. \nThe don’ts of writing a small business blog\nWe’ve outlined the right ways to do create and promote small business blog. Now here are the things to avoid doing if you want to do well in the search engines and keep your readers engaged. \nDon’t set unrealistic goals for your blog\nIt’s important not to set goals that you can’t achieve. Let’s say you want to post 5-6 articles every month, but you don’t have the time to do that yourself, and you don’t have any other writers on your staff to help you out. You’re setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. \nSet realistic goals for yourself as you start your blog writing endeavors. Start small and grow as you are able to. \nDon’t copy others’ content or plagiarize\nThis should be an obvious one, but you’d be surprised how many small businesses just copy some content they like from another website and post it on their own without giving any attribution to the original source. \nPlagiarizing large amounts of content on your website, even if you do give credit to the original publisher, is illegal, unethical, and can hurt your search engine visibility. \nIt’s important to write unique content on your website. And if you do need to copy some content from another site, make sure to give them proper attribution and try to keep this to a minimum and only when absolutely necessary. \nIf you want to mention other people’s blogs or social media and link to them, recommending them as another good source of info, this is usually perfectly fine (and actually desirable for the other party).\nDon’t post inconsistently or infrequently\nDon’t start a blog on your website, post once, and then leave the blog stagnant for several months. Your website should be a living, breathing thing that you are consistently feeding new content to. Determine a realistic frequency to post blogs and try to stick to it. \nIf you don’t apply real effort to creating good, relevant, fresh content for your blog, you will see practically zero benefit from it.\nDon’t post irrelevant content\nYour blog should be relevant to your business. If you run a veterinary clinic, you’re not going to want to post blog articles about interior decorating (unless it somehow relates to a pet’s health). \nKeep your blog articles relevant to your business and the needs of your customers. \nDon’t ramble \nRambling is a big no-no. No one is going to want to read an article that rambles on and on about any given topic (or gets way off topic). Rambling usually doesn’t have a clear focus and tends to take away from the overall impact and value of the article. \nKeep your articles well-organized and concise. \nDon’t use long spans of text\nGoing back to consumer attention spans, it’s important to avoid long walls of text within your blog articles. Keep your paragraphs short. \nThree to 4 short sentences is a good goal to have. This will make your articles easier to read and skim through. \nFor most people, if they see a long wall of text when they land on an article, they will go back and find a different one that is easier to consume quickly. \nDon’t forget to proofread\nProofreading and reviewing all articles before they get published is an important part of the process. Don’t be in such a rush that you publish mistakes or poorly crafted content just for the sake of posting.\nRemember that your blog represents you. Show that you care by publishing quality, well-built articles. 

The do’s and don’ts of writing an effective small business blog

In this article:\nWhy Yahoo is still important\nHow to claim and create your Yahoo business profile\nWhat next\nWhile Yahoo has less than 2% of the search engine market share worldwide, that is still hundreds of millions of users that are searching on this platform each day. \nAs the default search engine for FireFox and a nostalgic search engine for many others, Yahoo is still very much a relevant place to list your business. \nWhy Yahoo is still important\nIt is crucial to list your business across several online directories to improve your local search engine visibility. These listings, also known as citations, help the search engines to verify your business’s information across multiple trustworthy sources. \nYahoo is one of these places. It has been around for more than 25 years and as such, it has become a habitual search engine for many of its users. Even though market share has declined for this platform, millions of people still use Yahoo each day. This means that it can provide a valuable opportunity for your business to get found. \nIt can be a little complicated to claim your business listing on Yahoo, but we’ve put together a detailed guide to help you out. \nHow to create and claim your Yahoo business listing\nFollow these steps to add your business to Yahoo and get it verified. \nStep 1 (Option 1): Search for your business\nGo to \nYahoo.com\n and search for your business. Like many online directories, if you have an established business, it is likely that they’ve pulled your information from other sources and added a listing to their directory. \nSearch for your business in the main search bar on Yahoo. If a business listing doesn’t show up to the right of the screen, be sure to try a couple of different searches–one with your city name, with old names if applicable, etc. \nIf you can’t find your business on Yahoo, continue to Step 1 (Option 2) to add your business to Yahoo.\n(Image)\n\nThe business listing will look like this. And the next thing you need to do when you find it is click “Verify your listing.”\n(Image)\n\nYahoo will then redirect you to a platform called Yext. Yext is a platform that offers services to help you manage and update your online listings. These are paid services, but we’ll continue walking you through the free way to claim your Yahoo listing in Step 2. \nStep 1 (Option 2): Add your business to Yahoo\nIf your business is not on Yahoo, that’s okay. You can go directly to Yext to add it. Just go follow \nthis link to Yext\n and continue with Step 2. \nStep 2: Verify your Yahoo business listing\nWhen you get to Yext, fill in your business information on the form that appears and click “Scan my listings.” \n(Image)\n\nWhen you do this, you’ll be taken to a page that shows your business information across several different directories and whether or not it’s correct or missing. \nNote: Don’t get distracted by this now, but make a note to come back and see which online listings you need to update for your business. \nJust continue by clicking “Fix All Errors.”\n(Image)\n\nThen make sure that all of your business information is correct in the following form. Make sure to enter accurate contact information to complete the process of claiming your listing. Click “Continue.”\n(Image)\n\nNext, Yext will try to get you to buy into one of their premium plans. You’ll see a screen like this.\n(Image)\n\nScroll below these paid options until you see “Claim your Basic Listing only on Yahoo here.” This will allow you to claim your Yahoo listing for free. \n(Image)\n\nYou’ll be brought to a checkout page, where you can once again verify your business information and add a couple of additional items, including your website and a category for your business. \nComplete the form and check both of the boxes below it. Check the “I’m not a robot” reCaptcha, and then click “Place Order.”\n(Image)\n\nAfter this, you’ll be taken to a screen that informs you that Yext will be sending you an email shortly to confirm your account. \n(Image)\n\nLog in to the email you entered for your contact information. In the email you received from Yext, click “Confirm Email.” You’ll then be taken to a page to set up the password for your Yext account. Enter this and record it someplace where you’ll be able to access it. \n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nOnce you set up your password, you’ll be taken into your Yext account where you can see your Yahoo listing information. \n(Image)\n\nTo tell if your business is verified, click “Edit.” On the following screen, look to the right and check your “Yahoo Listing Status.”  If it already says “Opted in” then you’re done! \nIf this says you are “Opted Out” you will need to opt in.\n(Image)\n\nClick “Opt In” and then “Opt in to this listing.”\n(Image)\n\nYext will then give you instructions to verify your Yahoo business listing. You can upgrade to a paid service for immediate verification or choose one of the two free options: a phone call verification (also immediate) or official documentation (which can take up to two weeks). \nSelect the best option for your business. If you can do a phone call, we recommend this option, as it will immediately update your Yahoo listing. \n(Image)\n\nOnce that’s done, your listing is claimed on Yahoo! It may take a day or two to reflect the changes publicly on Yahoo’s search engine, but rest assured knowing that you’ve done the work to get it there. \nSources:\n
\nhttps://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share\n


How to create and claim your free business listing on Yahoo

In this article:\nWhat is cash flow and why is it often an issue for small businesses?\n6 common cash flow issues and how to solve them:\nMany businesses don’t make it past the first couple of years due to cash flow problems. Whether they are spending more than they are bringing in or simply can’t keep up with payments, it becomes a real problem for business owners everywhere. \nIf your business is having cash flow problems, it may be wise to hire a financial consultant or CPA to help you analyze the situation. We’ll also give you some recommendations for solving common cash flow problems that businesses face. \nWhat is cash flow?\nCash flow is the term that refers to how the money moves in and out of your business. (And the term “cash” here doesn’t necessarily refer to hard currency or paper bills… it just means “funds.”) It isn’t just about profits, but all aspects of the funds that come in and how that money gets spent. \nIf you are coming up short on payments for necessary business obligations, can’t afford to grow with customer demands, or find that you’re spending more money than you’re bringing in, you have a cash flow problem. \n6 common cash flow problems small business face and how to solve them\nIt’s good to address cash flow problems as soon as possible so you can take adequate steps to solve them and keep your business running smoothly. Take a look at these common problems and determine if your business needs to work on them. \nOverestimating future profits\nUnpaid invoices from clients/customers\nUnorganized books\nSpending too much\nScaling too quickly\nNot maintaining cash reserves\nLet’s go over each and discuss ways to address them.\n1. Overestimating future profits\nMany business owners are overly optimistic about their business and how much they are going to make, especially when starting out. While optimism is a healthy trait to have, too much of it can hurt your business. \nOverestimating future profits can hurt your cash flow in numerous ways. You may make justifications for spending too soon or purchasing too much inventory because you are anticipating a good sales month. It’s important to maintain realistic expectations, and even underestimate so you don’t find yourself in trouble later on. \nHow to solve it:\nKeep yourself from overestimating future profits by using a solid method for sales forecasting. Use your history of sales to set expectations for each month, or if your business is relatively new, use real data from other businesses in your industry, and be realistic about how much of that share your new business is likely to get.\nNot sure how to do this on your own? Talk to a financial professional to get assistance in creating an accurate sales forecast. You should have a somewhat clear idea about sales forecasting if you did \nproper research before starting your own business\n.\n2. Unpaid invoices from clients/customers\nPerhaps the largest cash flow issue for most businesses is clients that haven’t paid their invoices. Lack of payment means less money for your business. \nThis can happen for a number of reasons: your client is having similar cash flow problems, they spent too much and suddenly can’t afford the service, they forget about the invoice, or maybe they simply don’t want to pay. \nIt’s important to keep track of and address unpaid invoices right away so they don’t become a large problem for you later on. \nHow to solve it:\nThere are a few ways you can resolve your unpaid invoice problems with customers:\nRequire a deposit up front\nSend out regular reminders when invoices go out (email and text reminders with a link to a payment option are great)\nHire a debt collector to assist with problematic clients (unfortunately many people don’t pay on time unless they are threatened with “collections”)\nConsider using an invoice factoring company\n3. Unorganized books\nStaying organized is a huge factor in keeping good cash flow and knowing where your money is. Unorganized bookkeeping can and will hurt your company if it continues for too long. \nUnorganized books can result in late fees for invoices you owe, missing client payments that you haven’t received, unexpected costs, and more. It’s important to keep your finances organized from the start so these issues don’t build up and become a real problem.\nHow to solve it:\nIf you are not an organized person or you are too busy to keep organized records of your finances, consider hiring a bookkeeper to help you out. A bookkeeper can help you keep good records of your incoming and outgoing cash flow so issues can be addressed early and nipped in the bud. \n4. Spending too much\nSpending more money than you have coming the simplest definition of a cash flow problem. If you don’t have the money coming into your business, you shouldn’t be spending it. \nOf course, in most cases you do have to “spend money to make money,” so you need to find that balance and anticipate costs that are necessary so you can make good decisions about when it’s okay to spend money even if you don’t necessarily have incoming cash flow yet. \nHigh overhead expenses can become a huge problem here if you don’t have enough incoming cash flow because these are generally expenses that you have no matter what, like rent, utilities, phone and internet bills, and more. \nHow to solve it:\nThe best way to address this issue is to cut costs where possible and limit your spending. Here are a few ways you can do that:\nAudit your expenses to determine what you can cut. This may bring light to unnecessary payments or subscriptions that you have\nGet quotes from different companies for your phone and internet. Find more competitive rates\nAutomate tasks that you generally hire people to do \nGo paperless with your invoicing and record keeping\nGet lean on office supplies, luxuries in your business space, “expensed” meals, and wherever else makes sense \n5. Scaling too quickly\nTrying to grow your business at a too-rapid pace can hurt you in the long run. If you don’t have the incoming cash flow to support your growth, your business is likely to fail if you’re not smart about scaling. \nThink about this example: you land a huge client that will bring in a large payment and ongoing future business, but you need extra help to finish their project, which will still take six months. You hire three people to help with the project, but after the first month you don’t have enough money to keep up with their paychecks. Now you’re in trouble.\nHow to solve it:\nBe smart about scaling. Only take on projects and clients that you have the current cash flow to produce results. \nIf you are faced with an opportunity to scale more quickly, consider taking out a \nbusiness loan\n to help you address the cash flow issues that may arise. \n6. Not maintaining cash reserves\nEvery business should have an adequate amount of savings in store to address unexpected cash flow issues. Disasters occur, clients leave, and unprecedented events (like, say, a global pandemic) take place that we never could have predicted. \nIn these circumstances, the amount of cash reserves you have can make or break your business. Even with adequate sales forecasting, we can’t always predict the future. So, it’s important to make sure you have something to fall back on when unexpected events take place. \nHow to solve it:\nIt always a good idea to keep at least two months of operating expenses saved up so that even if you do have a slow sales month or disaster strikes, you are able to make payments to keep the lights on and pay your employees. \nIf the problem persists beyond your reserves, you may consider pulling out a \nbusiness loan\n and looking at ways to gain more business. 

6 common small business cash flow problems and how to solve them

In this article:\nWhy consistency is important in online listings\nHow to use Yext to help your small business\nYext is a powerful online resource that all businesses should take advantage of, whether you choose to pay for their premium services or not. \nYext doesn’t have its own online directory, but it helps you to find your business across several other online directories and check the consistency of your online listings. \nConsistency across platforms is vital in online business listings\nGoogle and other search engines use online directory listings, also known as citations, to help verify your business’s information across multiple sources. The more of these listings you have filled out, the better information the search engines are able to provide their users (your customers). \nBecause of this, it’s very important that your information is consistent across all of these listings. At the very least, your business name, address, and phone number (or NAP) should be exactly the same across all of your citations. \nThe more online listings you have with correct and consistent information, the better opportunity you have to rank in Google’s map pack when users do a local search for your services or products. \nSo, how can Yext help you with all of this?\nHow to utilize Yext to enhance your online business listings\nYext has some powerful capabilities that can help you improve your online listings and create consistency among them. \nHow to use Yext’s free service\nThe first thing that all businesses should take advantage of is Yext’s free business scan. With this tool, any business can enter their information to check the consistency and accuracy across the main business directories you should be listed on. \nGo to \nyext.com\n to see how your business appears online. You don’t even need to sign in. \nJust scroll down to the section where you can add your business information. Add your country, business type, business name, and phone number. \nClick “Scan Now” and Yext will generate a list of directories and how your business appears on them. \n(Image)\n\nThe next page is your list of citations Yext has found across the web. These will include Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Bing, Yelp, Mapquest, and many more (assuming you have \nclaimed your listings\n).\nThe thing that you want to look for here are any listings that have incorrect information. In the far right column, Yext will show you if any information is inaccurate with a red warning sign. \nIf you aren’t currently subscribed to Yext, you’ll likely also see “Not verified on Yext” on your listings that are correct. If you aren’t interested in paying for Yext’s services at this time, just ignore this (more on premium Yext services below).\n(Image)\n\nMake a note of any listings that are incorrect. Each listing Yext shows has a link in the left column that says “View Listing.” That link will take you directly to your listing for that site, where you can then update it. \nIf you want to update these listings yourself without paying for Yext’s premium listing service, we have helpful tutorials to guide you through the process, step-by-step. \nGoogle\nYahoo\nFacebook\nBing\nYelp\nTripAdvisor\n\nYP.com\n\n\nLinkedIn\n\n\nFoursquare\n\n\nOpenTable\n\n\nCrunchbase\n\n\nBBB\n\nIf the process of updating all of your listings is beyond the time you have available, then you might want to consider Yext’s premium services. \nHow to use Yext’s premium listings management\nYext’s premium solutions allow you to sign up for a plan that has specific listings and features. Yext will then update all of the listings within your plan to make sure that your information is correct. You will need to pay an ongoing fee to keep these listings updated. \nIf you are interested in doing this, proceed from the business scan page and click “Fix All Errors.”\n(Image)\n\nYou’ll then be brought to a form to update your information and make sure everything is exactly how you want it to appear across all of your online listings. Click “Continue” to see the four different Yext plans for small businesses. \n(Image)\n\nThe four plans Yext offers for small businesses are as follows:\nEmerging: This plan is what they call their “Starter Package” and is billed at $199 annually. With this plan, you get your information updated across 40 lower level directories. \nEssential: This “Plus Package” is billed at $449 annually and includes listing your information across the main search engines and directory sites, like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, and 10 others. \nComplete: This “Standard Package” includes all of the listings from both the Emerging and Essential packages and is billed at $499 annually. \nPremium: This last option is Yext’s “Advanced Package” and is billed at $999 annually. This includes all of the listings from the previous packages as well as review monitoring and enhanced content for your website. \nSimply select the plan you wish to use, pay for it, and Yext will update your listings and provide you with a free training session on their software. \n(Image)\n\nThe one thing that you need to remember with Yext solutions is that once you stop paying for their services, you no longer have access to your listings that they’ve updated for you. 

191 articles found in “Learning”

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6 common small business cash flow problems and how to solve them

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