At Websites by Patriots, we have been in the business arena long enough to see Patriot Owned Businesses come and go. Many great businesses failed even though they had great service at a reasonable price but lacked the business structure needed to sustain. With that in mind here are a few things we see that are a must for every Patriot Owned Small Business to get started:
1. A Planned Focus
We’ve all heard the adage: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” ~Benjamin Franklin. As we said before, there are many people that have a great product or service; but did not sit down and lay out their business plans or mission focus. By thinking through where you want your business to be in six months, one year, five years and 10 years; you can help yourself set achievable goals with an established structure. Simply going with a day-to-day “let’s see how it goes” mentality, will have you spending wasteful dollars chasing ideas; rather than thinking the process through toward your desired goal.
2. Establish a Budget
We’ve met so many Patriot Owned Businesses over the years that simply live “out of the cash register”, meaning that they don’t establish a budget; rather making purchasing decisions based upon surplus. This type of budget will doom you to fail as impulse purchases can quickly drain the surplus leaving you broke, when a true need is present. When setting up your business be sure that you lay out an appropriate budget. Determine in advance what you will need to pay yourself, your employees, your marketing, your overhead (rent and utilities) as well as any necessary insurance, licenses or permits that are required for you to responsibly be in business.
3. A Logo
A logo, for any business, can be the focal point for branding and marketing. It is part of what people will remember your business by and associate with; because it is so important – don’t skimp. So many Patriot Owned Business startups will use stock logo generation programs, or Microsoft publisher to slap together a cheap logo; with no thought of the branding or impacted that a logo might have. Consider hiring a professional through a local sign company, or marketing agency that has top-quality talent; and ask to see examples. A well designed, simple and descriptive logo can be one of the primary things that sets you apart from your competition.
4. A Business Card
It might sound old-fashioned, but a business card is still one of the fastest and easiest ways to get the message out about your Patriot Owned Business. A business card is literally a first impression of your business, so make it a good one. Make sure that the design of the business card matches the branding characteristics that you have laid out for your company. Use a quality business card supplier that can provide you with a thick 16 PT business card at a reasonable price. Stay away from cheap and fast places like Vista Print and support fellow Patriot Businesses. You might pay a few $ more, but will go a long way in supporting the Patriot Owned Business movement!
5. A Website
A website in today’s business climate is your digital business card, but it goes beyond that. A website is the platform that ties all your other marketing approaches together, literally the landing pad for the visual impression that you want to give. When customers see that you have a cheap cookie cutter website it sets the climate or impression that you can reflect to your customers. Using a WIX or GoDaddy site may be inviting as a way to save money, but these free website builders lack the infrastructure for proper search engine optimization and market branding. Support for these types of services either cost way more than you think, or are simply non existent.
When choosing a web developer, note that there is a difference between the web development company, a search engine optimization company and a marketing company; each offers the other’s services, but only specialize in one of the three. That is why we recommend choosing the best of each: Hire the best web developer, then hire the best search engine optimization service and then wrap it all up with hiring a good marketing company. If each of these three services are at the top of their game, they should be able to work together to provide you with the web presentation that you’re looking for as well as being a powerful lead generation tool.
Websites By Patriots
Websites by Patriots is made up of a diverse group of liberty loving people who actually enjoy what they do. This hand selected team consists of former businesses owners, public safety officers, disabled veterans, lifelong patriots and even a former Baptist pastor who have all come to call Websites by Patriots their home. We’ve been on both sides of the business market, so we just don’t read about it in a history book; WE LIVED IT!
We seek to work with small business owners who have a drive and passion to provide excellence in the products or services they supply to their customers. With our assistance, they will be able to achieve greater results based on years of experience in the web development industry. Coupled with our “work around” skill set we have been able to find affordable (and sometimes free) solutions that save time and money for those who need it the most.
