PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

We did it - we survived another January but it is never easy!  Each February, I make two solemn vows - the first is that I will never give another contract labor person a check without getting a W-9 form and secondly, I vow that next year on February first, I will go somewhere with warm ocean water that is far away.  I never seem to achieve these goals but they somehow make me smile and feel less stressed for at least a few moments.

We have a bit more time to put in before the tax returns are all complete but January always seems like the BIG ONE for me!  It appears that the number of jobs that are coming through has really increased lately - I think others must be feeling the upcoming pressure of April 15th.

We must be doing a good job - the emails and calls keep flowing in.  GOOD WORK!

Moving into the year, Pamela Allman and Vicki St. Martin have a great line up of speakers and  programs scheduled for our enrichment and entertainment - these two women have handled the speaker committee for many years and they do a GREAT job!!  Thanks Vicki & Pam!

See you all Tuesday and remember, smile - it can be contagious!

Best regards,
Maureen Turk
SBBA President

Affordable Ways to Measure the Success of Your New Product or Service Offerings

Change for change’s sake is useless. Surgeons don’t operate for the sake of operating and businesses shouldn’t either. When you make a change to your product or services or you provide a completely new offering, you need to gauge whether it is successful or not. Knowing this will help you to determine future changes and offerings.

Often small businesses neglect measuring for success because they think it is unaffordable, too time-consuming or un-manageable but it doesn’t have to be.

Here are some tried and true ways for assessing whether or not your new offering is producing the results you want:

Ask your customers and target buyers what they think. Are they satisfied with the quality of the product and the caliber of service? Do they feel like they have got their money’s worth? How can you improve? This can be as informal as greeting random customers and asking for a minute of their time to discuss their purchases or it can be as formal as conducting a meeting with selected target buyers. Most importantly, it puts you in direct contact with your buyers. This gives you valuable actionable information and leaves customers impressed with your dedication to quality and service.

Test advertising spending in different test markets or with a single business in one location over different periods of time.  Monitor your advertising expenses compared to your sales volumes during different times of the year. Consider coupon programs or referral code systems where you can track and monitor where your advertising dollar is being best spent.

Set up easy systems for tracking new accounts versus refills or re-orders. This may be as simple as tracking sales receipts for new accounts or entering a code in your customer database that designates new customers in monthly reports. Coffee shops and beauty salons offer an easy-to-replicate model. They hand out cards to customers. The customer then gives it to the cashier after each purchase and the cashier denotes a purchase has been made. The incentive for the customer is a free coffee or in the case of the beauty salon, a free salon service after a designated number of purchases. The benefit for the business owner is tracking the quantity and success of their business. It would be easy for a cashier to write a code designating a new or repeat client. The important thing is measuring new orders versus re-orders so you can then determine the long-term success of your offerings. If you retain customers and keep them coming back over time, you know you have a winner.  

Thank you goes to Brenda Richter, CPA for submitting this article.

Did you know………

•   Coca-Cola was originally GREEN!

•  The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time television was Fred and Wilma Flintstone!

It’s said that no one will ever come up with a funny income tax joke.  It does, however, lend itself to some wry humor……………..

“There are two distinct classes of men…those who pay taxes, and those who receive and live upon taxes.”  (Thomas Paine)

 “The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax!”  (Albert Einstein)

 “When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.”  (Plato)

 “The government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.”  
(George Bernard Shaw)

 “There is no art which one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.”   (Adam Smith)

 “Like mothers, taxes are often misunderstood, but seldom forgotten.”  (Lord Bramwell) 

“But in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”  (Benjamin Franklin)

 “A taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government, but who doesn’t have to take a civil service examination.”  (Ronald Reagan)

 And My All-Time Favorite………

“The trick is to stop thinking of it as YOUR money.”  (IRS Agent)

Six Tips for Buying Business Insurance:

Knowing how much to buy, and why, is half the battle.

1. Know what you're buying and why you're buying it. There are two basic kinds of business insurance -- property and liability.

2. Find a knowledgeable insurance agent. Choosing a commercial insurance agent is as important to the health of your business as choosing a doctor is to your body.

3. Read your policy. Insurance reforms in the past decade have transformed policies from a jumble of difficult-to-understand words and phrases to much clearer explanations of what the policies cover.

4. Figure out how much insurance you need.

5. Check your insurance company's health

6. Tailor your insurance to meet your needs. There are almost as many options and add-ons as choices in a cafeteria line.

In keeping with Board policy and the stated purpose of the organization to provide an exchange of information and further the education of our members, the Newsletter Committee will maintain a calendar listing of educational opportunities available to members and the public.  This listing will contain information that you send in.  Please send your contributions to the Editor.