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In this article:\nOptimize your Google Business listing\nImprove your local ranking on Google search results \nGet more attention from customers\nRank higher on Google Maps\nNews flash: even if you haven’t created or claimed your Google My Business listing, you probably already have one. \nThis is because Google (and other business review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Foursquare) allows customers to post reviews and info about your business \neven if no official profile exists\n. \nIn other words, until you officially claim your pages, \npeople other than you\n have 100% control over how your business appears online.\nYet, despite the increasing importance of a robust online presence for even small, local businesses, at last count only 44% of Google My Business listing pages had been claimed. Unbelievable.\nIf you want to know how to make sure more people find your Google My Business listing, we recommend you start with these 5 steps.\n1. Claim and update your Google Business listing with current, correct information\nThe critical first step in learning how to improve your local ranking on Google My Business results is to—you guessed it—actually \nown\n your Google Business listing. As noted above, \nless than half\n of businesses have officially claimed their pages. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple online business reviews sites make 58% more money!\nThe good news is, it’s free and relatively straightforward to claim yours. Click to read our detailed article on \nhow to claim your Google My Business listing\n.\nAfter you’ve claimed your listing (and we recommend you \nclaim your business pages\n on \nall\n the relevant review sites), be sure to complete all of the basic business info, including an accurate physical address, phone number(s), email address, website, and hours of operation.\nAlso, set a daily or weekly reminder to keep your info up-to-date. This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many times we’ve found that this basic, yet critical online customer touchpoint is outdated or missing—phone number out of service, website down, email bouncing, location listed incorrectly or not at all, outdated reviews, and more.\nThere are few things more frustrating than when customers search a business online, decide to purchase, and go out of their way to travel to the place of business, only to find it's moved across town or it's closed for the day due to out-of-date information on the Google Business listing. \nWe’ve all been there. It sucks. Some of our staff have vowed never to patronize a business again after suffering such an inconvenience. We know—first world problems, right? But customers are fickle. Don’t give them that chance.\nNot to mention, when your info is complete and you keep your listing up to date, you improve your local ranking on Google search results and rank higher on Google Maps.\nNote: we said “website.” Sorry, but yes, you need a website. Squarespace or Wix make it pretty easy. You don’t need to have an online shopping basket or checkout process (although “order online, pick up in store” is trending very high and a growing number of retail stores and restaurants now use it). \nAs long as your website has some (correct) basic info about your business, some pretty pictures, and valid contact information, that will do until you have some more time and money to spend on a more robust website. Basically, people just want to see that you HAVE a website to make double sure your company is “legit.”\n2. Edit your Google Business listing to include quality photos\nA good Google My Business listing will include several high-quality photos of the exterior and interior of your business (if applicable), as well as relevant product photos if possible. \nThink about businesses that stand out to you when you conduct local searches. They almost certainly have eye-catching photos included. \nIf you’re not a shutterbug and you don’t know any teenagers going through their “photography” phase, consider hiring a professional for half a day (this is also a good opportunity to get some quality photos for your website). \n\nHigh-quality images of your location, products, or services can help you stand out in online searches.\nAsk for clear, high-resolution photos with size, composition, and color optimized for online thumbnail display. In addition to interior and exterior shots of your physical location, these might include photos of customers getting a haircut, autos being serviced, mouth-watering photos of your restaurant’s food and beverage offerings, happy pets being groomed, a display of the large selection of products you offer… you get the idea.\nMost people respond well to catchy visuals, and a small investment here can pay off in more engagement and better search rankings for your business.\n3. To outrank your local competition on Google My Business, add “next level” info\nIf you want to stand out online against your local competition, you should add “next level business info” to your Google listing. What we mean by this is to go beyond the absolute necessities listed above.\nNext level info might involve \nadding a current menu for a restaurant\n, completing the “optional” fields/descriptors such as “casual atmosphere,” “lots of parking,” “free WiFi,” “family friendly,” and any others, as well as including links to any online or scheduling options for salons, auto shops, groomers, restaurants, etc.\nThe more details and info you can include, the more ways there are for the web search engines to find and rank your listing well. In general, Google business profiles with an abundance of info look more appealing than bare-bones listings, even if the bare-bones ones also have a solid star rating.\n4. Your Google Business listing should include a short, inviting business description\nCurrently, Google allows space below the displayed reviews for businesses to post a short message or boilerplate.\nThis is your chance to play marketing copywriter or VP of Business Development. Try to condense all of your business’s qualities into two or three very clean, descriptive sentences. \nYou might refer to your “elevator pitch,” or your business’s mission statement or company vision. Ask someone you trust to proofread it and give you feedback.\nAdding a well-crafted description of your business, products, or services is an effective way to introduce yourself to your potential customers looking for you online, and can help improve engagement and accurate search results.\n5. Add replies to customers’ Google Business listing reviews\nIf a potential customer searches your business, Google displays your basic business profile, including any information you (or your customers) have completed. Google also displays the top three or four relevant reviews for your business as part of the basic profile display.\nThis can be a good thing, if the displayed reviews are 4 or 5 stars, or it might not be so great if you haven’t gotten many excellent reviews yet.\nThis highlights the vital importance of taking control of your business’s online reputation, even for small, local businesses.\nThe “star rating” is almost the first thing anyone sees when searching for businesses like yours in your area, and that rating is calculated by your Google reviews. Click to read our primers on \nhow to get more reviews\n.\nHowever, this goes one level deeper: if you click on the Google map included in your basic profile, or if you click on any of the reviews displayed there, you get a more in-depth listing of the reviews, \nincluding any of your replies to those reviews. \nThis is a fantastic and little-used opportunity for you to show your current and potential customers that you take their feedback seriously and are actively engaged in maintaining a beneficial dialogue with customers online. (Click to read our in-depth article on \nhow to respond to reviews\n.)\nIf you take the 5 basic steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to improving your local ranking on Google, ranking higher on Google Maps, and attracting and retaining more happy customers. 

The top 5 things every small business should include in their Google Business listing

In this article:\nDIY websites for small businesses\nWordPress\nSquarespace\nWix\nShopify\nSmartly Done Websites\nYour website should be an online extension of your business, so you don’t want to skimp out and you definitely want it to look professional. But sometimes you just need something to get you started that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. \nWe’ve seen tons of small business websites all across the board, from highly custom sites that cost thousands of dollars to free websites built by some of our customers themselves. There are solid website options for any budget that you are looking to start with, and we’ll outline some of our favorite DIY budget websites for small businesses here. \nWordPress.org\nWordPress.org (\ndifferent from WordPress.com\n) can be a great website builder to start with. And we might be a little biased because we use WordPress, but it has some great capabilities for any business! \nFrom a DIY standpoint, if all you need is to add information about your company in the form of pages and blog posts, WordPress can really take you far. \nThe cost of using WordPress is super manageable. All you need to pay to get your website up and running for the world to see is web hosting (at $7.99 per month) and for a domain name (at $14 per year). If you want a premium theme that someone designed, there may be additional costs associated there as well, but beyond that, you’re looking at a pretty good deal.\nEven better, if you choose to pay for your WordPress site through BlueHost, you can get your domain name for free and only pay $3.95 per month for web hosting. That’s a steal!\nPart of the advantage of using WordPress for your website is that it’s an open source platform where anyone can create modifications for others to use. This means that developers al over have created plugins and themes that can help you to modify your website to your specifications. \nGet started at \nWordPress.org\n. \nA note of caution: Not all WordPress plugins play friendly together, especially as new updates come out for your WordPress software. Sometimes plugins that aren’t compatible can cause weird design effects or security vulnerabilities on your website. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use it, just that you should do your research to maintain your site well or consult a developer when adding multiple plugins to your website. \nSquarespace\nSquarespace is a really powerful all-in-one website manager for those of you who want to build your own website and do it for a relatively low cost. \nThey have tons of unique templates to choose from with customization options to really make your site stand out from your competitors. \nSquarespace has four basic pricing plans: Personal, Business (their most popular), Basic Commerce, and Advanced Commerce. \nEach of Squarespace’s plans comes with the following features:\nFree custom domain\nSSL security\nUnlimited storage\nSEO features\nTemplates for every type of website need\nOptions for multiple contributors (the Personal plan only allows two contributors, but all others are unlimited)\nMobile responsive websites\n24/7 customer support\nBasic website metrics\nHere’s a little more information on each of their individual plans. \nPersonal \nThis plan starts at $12 per month when you pay annually, or $16 per month if you choose to pay month to month.  \nBusiness\nThis plan starts at $18 per month when you pay annually and is $26 per month if you choose to pay monthly. If you choose to use this plan for eCommerce transactions, there will be a 3% transaction fee required. \nBasic Commerce\nThis plan starts at $26 per month when you pay annually and is $30 per month if you pay monthly. On this plan and the Advanced Commerce plan, there is no fee associated with transactions. \nAdvanced Commerce\nThis plan starts at $40 per month paid annually or $46 per month when paid monthly. The difference between this plan and the Basic Commerce plan is that with Advanced Commerce you have capabilities to sell gift cards, advanced shipping calculations, sell subscriptions, offer advanced discounts, and a few more advanced features. \nEach of Squarespace’s business plans comes with a free professional email box on G-suite with the option to purchase more. \nGet started with \nSquarespace here\n!\nWix\nWix can be a completely free option if you don’t need any additional features like your own domain and you don’t mind their ads on your site. But, for a professional business website, we recommend at least getting their basic plan to have your site on your own domain and remove those ads. \nWix has four premium plans that you can choose from:\n Combo at $13 per month\n Unlimited at $17 per month\n Pro at $22 per month\n VIP at $39 per month\nBasically, with each additional pricing tier, you gain more support, analytics capabilities, storage, ad vouchers, and some other add-ons. \nSimilar to Squarespace, Wix has tons of beautiful pre-made templates that you can choose to start from. And then you can customize each site to match your unique brand and style. \nGet started with \nWix\n today. \nShopify\nShopify is a platform that was built specifically for online sales. Whether you have a brick and mortar location or not, Shopify is perfect if you plan to sell any products online. \nIf you are starting a new business, their basic plan at $29/month will be the best solution. This includes the following features:\nOnline store (with a full eCommerce website and blog)\nUnlimited products\n2 staff accounts\n24/7 Shopify support\nSales channels (through social media and online marketplaces)\nManual order creation\nDiscount codes\nPOS apps and integrations\nAnd more!\nOnce you have an account set up with Shopify, you can start adding your products, customize the look of your site, and really set it up to be your own. \nThere are \nfees associated with transactions\n for every plan on Shopify which could be one downside to the platform, but you can’t beat the ease of setting up your products and website. \nGet started with \nShopify\n now. \nWhat to do next\nOnce your small business is all set with a new, professional-looking website, that’s just the start. There’s a lot that you can, and should, do to help improve your business’s online visibility so you can continue to grow your business. \nThere are several \nfree local SEO tips\n that we have outlined in some of our articles. One of those tips is managing your online reputation by gaining new online reviews and managing your online business profiles. 

5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget

Goldman Sach has published \nan infographic \nthat details exactly why there’s so much fuss over the so-called Millennial generation (those born between 1980 and 2000). Here are a few highlights:\nMillennials are the largest generation in history, at 92 million people in the U.S. alone. Compare that to 77 million Americans who are, or were, part of the Baby Boomer generation\nThey use technology to make better informed decisions on the fly. As one example, 57% compare prices in stores, often using their mobile devices to do so.\nSocial media plays a big role in their overall social behavior. In fact, 34% of Millennials say they like brands that have a social media presence better, compared to just 16% of older consumers.\nIn summary, Millennials are quickly becoming the main consumer force in America and beyond, and everyone is trying to figure out how to better sell to them, including one-person startups, sole proprietorships, contractors, and more.\nA changing payments landscape\nSmall businesses, solopreneurs, and freelancers, need to adjust, also. In addition to thinking about ways to make your products and services more compelling to younger buyers, it’s important to make payment easier, as well.\nResearch shows that small businesses are doing a better job of accepting credit cards, which is an important starting point. The vast majority of consumers prefer to pay with credit or debit cards, and small businesses are making more money from card transactions thanks to getting on board.\nSmall businesses must accept peer-to-peer payments\nAnother avenue worth exploring to attract younger consumers who’ve grown up with social media is accepting payments from peer-to-peer applications like Venmo or Cash App. If you’re not familiar, these payment apps allow consumers to pay each other, which is helpful if you’re splitting a restaurant bill, bar tab, or just want all your friends to know where you’re spending money.\nHere’s how \nFortune Editor Adam Lashinky described Venmo\n, which processes about $8 billion in peer-to-peer transactions every quarter: "\nIf you haven’t used Venmo, it’s tough to understand what millennials might have to do with cash transfers. The reason is that Venmo makes it easy to tell one’s friends about transactions, like: “Just split a meal with Britney.” I use Venmo, which fundamentally works a lot like PayPal and Square Cash, in that it links to a checking account and makes it easy to send cash to personal contacts."\nOne of the interesting aspects of peer-to-peer payment apps is that Millennials, in particular, treat them like a social media platform, kind of like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. They login to see what their friends are doing, not just to send them money.\nIf younger buyers are attracted to the uniqueness and originality of your business in the first place, it’s likely that they’ll want to share the fact that they’ve spent money with you online, as well. So, accepting payments from these kinds of apps could be beneficial in two ways: first, because Millennials like to make their payment experiences social and simple, and second, because it’s free publicity when others see that their friends patronized your business.\nIf you’re not accepting credit card payments, start there. If you are, consider whether accepting peer-to-peer app payments is right for your business.\nSolo makes it easy to pay and get paid\nSolo is not a bank, but is a financial super-app for small businesses, freelancers, sole proprietors, contractors, and more. Solo is the easy way to pay and get paid. Your customers don't have to sign up to pay you, and can use several payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cards. QR codes make it easy to get paid, and you can easily cash out your Solo account balance for free, or spend it using your Solo Cash Card anywhere Visa is accepted. Learn more at \nSolo.co\n.

Should your small business be accepting payments from peer-to-peer apps like Venmo or Cash App?

In this article:\nTraditional & Roth IRAs\nSEP IRA\nSimple IRA\n401K & Self-employed 401K\nKeogh Plans\nRunning your own business or being self-employed definitely has its perks—choosing your hours, choosing who you want to work with and where you want to work, and being responsible only to you. But this also means that you’re responsible for your own benefits packages, such as retirement plans. \nWhen it comes to planning ahead, you need to decide whether or not a retirement plan is a good option for you and what options are available. Throughout this article, we’ll go over several types of retirement plans for business owners and self-employed individuals so you can make an informed decision about which is best for you. \nPlease note:\n This article is for informational purposes only. Solo does not assume any liability for the accuracy of this information. Consult a licensed, qualified retirement investment broker and/or financial advisor. \nWhat’s the best retirement plan option for small business owners or self-employed individuals?\nAs you are looking into retirement plans for yourself, you should become familiar with the different options that are available in order to make the best decision for your situation. First, it’s good to have an idea of how much money you’ll need to retire comfortably. Use this \nretirement calculator\n to determine that amount. \nOnce you’ve determined how much retirement income you’ll need, let’s go over several types of retirement plans that can help you reach that goal. \nTraditional or Roth IRA\nAn individual retirement account, or IRA, is a retirement savings account offered by financial institutions, and it is generally tax-free. IRA’s are an investment that grows over time. You can choose how involved you want to be in these investments and based on that, pick a provider through which to invest your money and start your IRA. \n(Image)\nThe main difference between a traditional IRA and Roth IRA is when you want to take advantage of the tax deduction. \nWith a traditional IRA you can deduct contributions to your IRA from your business taxes and you won’t owe any income taxes on your IRA contributions or earned interest until you withdraw the funds. If you are in a lower tax bracket when you retire, this could be a great advantage of this type of IRA. \nRoth IRAs are the other way around: you don’t pay taxes on the money when you withdraw it in retirement, but you can’t deduct contributions to a Roth IRA from your annual business taxes. In other words, you are contributing Roth funds “after taxes.” Additionally, any earnings your Roth account makes grow tax-free, subject to certain limitations, while traditional IRAs’ earnings are tax-\ndeferred \nuntil you start withdrawing your funds at retirement. \nThere are also contribution limits for traditional and Roth IRAs, so it’s important to be aware of what that limit is each year. If you are wanting to put away more than the annual contribution limit for these types of plans, then you may want to look at other options. \nThe contribution limit for 2020 and 2019 for traditional and Roth IRAs is $6,000 ($7,000 if you are over age 50). \nWith a traditional or Roth IRA, you must wait until you are a certain age (or meet specific exceptions) before you can withdraw your retirement funds. The current age is 59½, so if you are planning on retiring before then, you may want some additional funds to get you through to that time. \nOne more thing to keep in mind when deciding between traditional and Roth IRAs: anyone with earned income can contribute to a traditional IRA, up to age 70.5. However, Roth IRAs have a limit on modified adjusted gross income if you want to contribute. In 2019 you couldn’t choose a Roth IRA if you earned more than $122,000 if single, or $193,000 if married filing jointly.\nSEP IRA\nA “simplified employee pension,” or SEP IRA, is a good choice for a retirement account for business owners and self-employed individuals. You can deduct your annual contributions from your business taxes and your taxes are deferred on your retirement savings until you withdraw it as income.\nImportant note: If you have employees that are eligible for the SEP IRA (they are at least 21 years of age, have worked for you for at least 3 of the last 5 years, and have been compensated more than $600 each year), then you must contribute to \ntheir\n IRA accounts at the same rate that you contribute to your own. For example, if you are contributing 10% of your income to your SEP account, then you must contribute 10% of your employees’ income into their SEP account. Because of this, a SEP IRA is best suited for self-employed individuals or those who have few or zero employees. \nOne reason that SEP IRAs are appealing is that they allow a significantly larger contribution limit than traditional and Roth IRAs. The contribution limit for 2020 is $57,000. However, one thing to be aware of is that that you cannot contribute more than 25% of your compensation. So if you earn a more modest salary, you may not be able to max out that $57,000 annual contribution limit. \nSimple IRA\nSIMPLE IRAs are generally offered by companies with 100 or fewer employees. This allows you to offer your employees the same retirement plan that you have for yourself. If you don’t have many employees, this option probably isn’t the one for you. \nSIMPLE is an acronym for “Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees.” With a Simple IRA, employers must contribute to their employees’ accounts based on set requirements from the IRS. A Simple IRA also allows employees (and you, as an employee of your own company) to choose the amount that they want to contribute, up to $13,500 in 2020. \nThe contributions to each employee’s (and your own) account will reduce the taxable income for the year and income taxes on this account won’t apply until it is withdrawn. \n\n401K & Self-employed 401K\nA 401(k) is similar to IRAs in that you set aside money into a retirement plan for investments. The major differences between 401Ks and IRAs are the contribution limits and when you can pull out your retirement funds. \nThe 2020 annual contribution limit for a 401K is $19,500 for employees. If you have a self-employed 401K, you can contribute as the employer \nand\n as an employee of your own company, meaning that you can contribute $19,500 as an employee and then as an employer contribute 25% of your earnings, up to $57,000. \nThe second major difference between 401Ks and IRAs is the conditions surrounding when you can withdraw your retirement funds. Under an IRA, you can pull your retirement savings at any time, with the caveat that you’ll face a 10% tax penalty if you pull them before age 59½. \nWith many 401K and self-employed 401K plans, you must meet one of the following requirements if you need to access your retirement funds before age 59½:\nRetire from or leave your job\nDie or become disabled\nExperience certain hardships (outlined by the plan)\nThe plan gets terminated\nIf your plan allows early withdrawal under the above or other circumstances prior to age 59½ you will be subject to the 10% tax penalty, in addition to paying your standard income tax rate on the funds. This can be a healthy chunk, so think very carefully before you try to withdraw 401K funds.\nNote: Some 401(k) plans allow for “hardship distributions” where you can use a portion of your savings for medical or funeral expenses (among others) under certain conditions, without facing an early withdrawal penalty. So be sure to discuss these options with your investment counselor.\nKeogh plan\nKeogh plans were created for self-employed business owners and unincorporated businesses to offer their employees and owners retirement benefits. Independent contractors do not qualify for a Keogh plan. \nKeogh plans fall into two categories: defined benefits plans and defined contribution plans. \nA defined benefits plan uses a formula to calculate a predetermined amount for the employee’s contributions. Generally, this will take into account the employee’s time with the company and their annual earnings. Due to the formula and variations between employees, this method can become more complicated than other retirement options. \nDefined contribution plans are basically 401Ks. They specify an exact amount of funds that can be placed into an employee’s account and have the same allowances and tax requirements as a 401K. \nAs you can see, you have several options for starting a retirement plan. You just need to decide which option is best for you as a business owner and your employees (if you have any). Once you’ve come to that decision, find a local provider that can help you get your retirement accounts set up. 

What are my retirement plan options if I’m self-employed or own my own business?

In this article:\nTest your idea\nUnderstand your market\nGet to know your customer\nEstablish funding\nStructure your business\nStart marketing\nAs you are getting ready to start your own business you’re going to have to wear a lot of different hats, and it’s not always going to be easy. But you’ve got this!\nJust to help you along the way, we’ve put together a list of six best practices to successfully launch your new small business. Keep these things in mind as you go about preparing your new business to give yourself the best chance at success. \nTest your idea\nBefore you ever start your business, you should test your business idea out on a smaller scale. What is the product or service that you want people to purchase?\nTest your idea out. See if people show interest in what you have to offer and if it even makes sense to move forward with it. Here are a few ideas to start testing your business idea:\nBuild a minimum viable product\nA minimum viable product (MVP) is the simplest form of your business idea that you can sell. During the testing process keeping it simple is critical in order to test, modify, and repeat. Show your target audience this MVP and get feedback to help you improve your idea before the real launch of your business. \nGet critiques\nTalk to other people in the industry, your family members, your friends, and potential customers about your idea. Get their honest opinions and show appreciation for any criticisms. \nYour idea is supposed to solve a real problem that people have. Find out if your target audience identifies with the problem that you think your idea will solve. \nYou can gain valuable feedback by presenting your idea to a potential customer in a real-world application. \nAdjust\nUse the critiques you get to adjust your idea and run it by even more people. Try to run your idea by at least 50 people (or more) and continue to adjust it until you and your harshest critics see a product or service that is ready to go to market. \nTry selling it \nBefore you launch your business in earnest, try selling your offerings on a limited basis. Are people even willing to pay the price that you want for your idea?\nIf things don’t go well during the testing process, that doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you need to make changes and test it again. \nIsn’t it much better to figure those things out now than before you put all of your hard-earned money into it?\nUnderstand your market\nMarket research is important for any type of business that you may be launching. If you don’t understand the market that you are entering, you aren’t likely to succeed. \nSpend time talking to and researching others in the industry in your specific area. What are they doing well? What can you learn from their successes and failures?\nImportant questions to ask and understand during the market research process:\nHow large is your potential market?\nWill the market grow or shrink?\nHow can you expand your business as the market grows?\nCan you handle a growing market?\nWhat competition already exists in your target location and what share of the market do they own?\nWhat is the general public’s perception of your competitors?\nWhat sets you apart from competitors?\nWho is your ideal customer, and what do they want?\nWhat are the pain points of your ideal customer?\nWhy would people buy from you?\nWhat prices should you charge? What are competitors charging?\nWhat are your business goals and how will you reach them in this current market?\nGet to know your customer\nIn order to sell anything to anyone you have to know and understand who you are selling to. You need to know how to appeal to your target demographic. \nDuring the market research phase, you should uncover some important information about your target customer. \nInformation you should know about your target audience:\nAge\nGender\nEducation level\nProfession\nLocation of residence\nIncome level\nInterests\nWhat they do during free time\nMotivations\nBiggest challenges\nSpending/purchasing habits\nResearch habits (where do they go for information?)\nLearning these things about your customers will give you a better success rate of marketing and selling to those customers. You can’t just blast information about your business and expect to get qualified customers running to your store. \nhandwritten note profile of ideal customer for market research small business\nYou need to strategically plan for the type of customer you want and then appeal to the things that you know about them. \nEstablish funding\nYou can’t start a business without the proper funding. Even if you are able to work out of your home doing a service with equipment that you already own, you will need funding for marketing at the very least. \nThe more likely scenario is that you’ll need funding for a commercial space, capital to manufacturer a product or purchase equipment, and of course the money to start a good marketing campaign (including getting a website up). \nBeyond simply saving up the money you need to start your venture (also known as bootstrapping), here are a few ways to can acquire the necessary funding:\nBorrow from trusted friends and family. It’s not always ideal to be in debt to people you are close with, but if you are confident in your plan and are confident that you can pay them back quickly, then this isn’t a bad way to go. \nYou could always try crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a way to let friends and friends of friends and all of their friends (and complete strangers) make their own contribution to your business. You’ve probably heard of GoFundMe, which is primarily meant for raising money for special life events and challenging circumstances. There are tons of platforms like this devoted to specifically helping small business owners like you get started.  \nTaking out a business loan is always an option if you have the credit score and collateral to back up the loan. \nGo deeper: \nGuide to small business loans: How to apply, best types, and tips\nStructure your business\nIt’s important to choose the right corporate structure for your small business. Do your research to find out if you should incorporate or if you should stick with a sole proprietorship until you see some significant growth. \nWe have a great guide that can help you learn more about sole proprietorship versus a corporation and what type of corporation is the best for your business. \nCheck it out here: \nHow and when to incorporate your small business\n\nStart marketing\nOnce you are satisfied with your business idea, you understand the market and your audience, and you’ve got the funding and structure in place, it’s time to get your name out there. \nIn this world of constant change and growing markets, it is imperative that you start a marketing campaign to help your business get found. \nThere are tons of ways that you can start your marketing, but the best place to start is the search engines and the places where your target audience spends most of their time. Are they big social media nuts or are they constantly on the road listening to the radio?\nCheck out these guides to get a good start to your marketing campaign:\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nLearn more: \n4 crucial steps to an effective small business marketing plan\n

6 best practices for successfully launching a small business

In this article:\nStart your own online order and delivery service\nUse alternative third-party services\nKeep up on your marketing efforts\nDuring the COVID-19 pandemic many businesses were forced to adapt to new methods of reaching their customers, primarily online. Restaurants were especially impacted by this, as most restaurants across the country had to close their dining rooms during statewide shutdowns. \nHowever, this may be a silver lining, as moving to online orders, curbside pickup, and delivery services has helped many restaurants continue to serve their local communities and many employees to keep their jobs. And as the recovery continues, these additional services and offerings can help restaurants to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction.\nIt’s important to continue to leave online and to-go services available for those who are still taking precautions and for those who just want to easily order with the tap of their fingers. \nSmall businesses that move toward “omnichannel” or “unified commerce” sales models, with multiple avenues for customers to order, pay, and receive product, will be able to weather financial and socioeconomic storms better than those that stick with traditional sales models.\nWhy don't some restaurant owners want to work with Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub?\nIf your restaurant isn’t providing online ordering or delivery services, now is the ideal time to start. Some restaurant owners have been averse to starting online and delivery services because they don’t want to work through the big three third-party platforms: DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub, which may increase your reach but they take a healthy bite of what can be very slim profit margins.\nAdditionally, many restaurant owners are averse to giving control over the customer experience (and quality of food) to someone outside of their control. It can hinder the customer’s view of the restaurant if food takes too long to arrive or is cold and soggy when it does. \nSo, are there other options?\nCheck out this article: \nWhy (and how) you need to put your restaurant’s menu online\nAlternative options for restaurants to sell online that don’t involve DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub\nYou don’t have to use one of “the big three” to get your food selling online and delivered to your customers. While they can make it easier for new restaurants, or restaurants new to delivery, to get their name out there, you do have other options. \nThe first of these is to offer online ordering and delivery services directly from the source: your restaurant. \nYou may also like: \n9 reasons your restaurant needs online ordering and delivery services\nStart online restaurant orders and delivery services on your own\nYou don’t need a third-party to offer online ordering and delivery services. If you have a website, a point-of-sale (POS) system, and employees that can drive, you have the means to start these services on your own. \nIt might take a little more work in the beginning to get everything integrated and working properly and to train your employees on their new responsibilities, but in the long run this could save you money. And it keeps everything in-house and under your control. \n(Image)\n\nSome things that you’ll need in order to offer online and delivery services:\nWebsite or online ordering platform—most modern POS (Point Of Sale) systems and/or online “shopping carts” have some way to integrate online ordering capabilities\nHigh-speed internet to ensure that you are receiving the orders as they come in\nDrivers and method of transportation for them (even if it’s their own vehicle)\nBags and takeout containers\nGo deeper: \n\nHow to get your restaurant started with delivery or carry-out\n\nThe 5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nWant to keep it “old school”? Telephone ordering can still work for your restaurant\nIf you have the capacity to take phone orders, this can still be effective, though most younger customers now will expect an online/mobile/app-based ordering system. \nIf you don’t have the capability or desire to go online for some reason, setting up a dedicated phone line and publishing your call-ahead/takeout/delivery order number far and wide can allow customers to call in their orders and either pick them up or ask you to deliver them. \nThis has been the model for lots of Chinese and pizza restaurants for decades, and with the increased demand lately for ordering ahead, you could still add profits and satisfy more customers’ wants in this way while keeping control of the entire process.\n(Image)\n\nOther third-party platforms for restaurant ordering and delivery\nIf starting all of this on your own feels like too much, there are other third-party companies you can use to allow online ordering and delivery for your restaurant. These are some great alternatives to DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. \nPostmates\nPostmates used to be a third-party online ordering and delivery service similar to “the big three,” but it was acquired by Uber in 2020. It's still run separately and fees may be a little better. Postmates is a little less common in certain areas of the U.S. This can be a good and bad thing. If your market isn’t familiar with Postmates, it could take a little extra marketing to get your name out there. But if Postmates is really common where you are, then it could bring in a lot more business. \nGet started at \npostmates.com\n. \nChowNow\nChowNow is another third-party online ordering and delivery solution that can help your restaurant get food out to your customers. ChowNow has an online ordering app and website similar to the other solutions out there, but they’ll also create a branded app specifically for your restaurant that customers can download and use to reorder their favorites with ease. \nInterested in this solution? Get started at \nchownow.com\n. \nOne awesome feature of ChowNow and Postmates is that they can integrate online ordering with your Google Business listing. That means that customers could find you on Google and be provided with a link to order online, without having to sign into another app. As long as they are already logged into Google, the process is seamless. \nUp your marketing game\nIf you’re trying to get away from using popular apps and solutions that have big marketing advantages, it’s important to compensate for that. You’ll need to hone in your marketing strategy to reach customers in new and innovative ways. \nFirst, make sure your current customers know that you are providing online ordering and delivery services. Get the word out with newsletters, \nsocial media posts\n, and sharing the news on your website. \nIn order to reach new online customers, you’ll need to invest in some small business advertising. That could be \nGoogle Ads\n, \nsocial media advertising\n, \nbillboards\n, and more. \nFocus some marketing efforts on \nSEO\n and building a good online reputation so your restaurant shows up when people are looking on places like Google, Yelp, and Bing. \nHere are a few helpful marketing guides to get you started:\n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\n5 ways to promote your restaurant on Google\n\nHow to set up Facebook Ads Manager for your small business\n\n

74 articles found in “Operations”

The top 5 things every small business should include in their Google Business listing

5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget

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6 best practices for successfully launching a small business

Restaurant alternatives to DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub for online ordering and delivery

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