Grow Your Business

Team up with other Businesses

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:49:11 -0400

Need to hold on to more working capital? Consider teaming up with a compatible business to save on costs. We've talked about bartering services where two businesses can get the services they need by helping each other out. Teaming up, however, means combining your resources.

Go Pro Bono to Build up Clients and Experience

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:50:16 -0400

The thought of not getting paid for a job sounds daunting. But offering services pro bono could provide you with a wealth of credibility and experience. You may have heard or read stories of unemployed people who offer to work for a company on a trial basis for no salary as an enticement.

Pro bono services also allow employees to stay busy and avoid becoming rusty. Pro bono can be an opportunity to pick up or build upon a new skill. Why shouldn't companies try the same especially if they work to land the right client that would boost their reputation?

Manufacturers Find More Customers with White Papers

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:02:01 -0400

Ask a handful of people what they think is in a white paper and you'll get almost as many different answers. Probably the most misleading thing about white papers is that because they're a marketing tool, companies believe they should promote the business' product or service. Yes, it's a marketing tool. No, it shouldn't be all about the business. The focus should be on the customer with the problem that you can solve.

Work for Uncle Sam

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:39:14 -0400

I don't mean give up your business and try to land a job with the US government or the local government. Rather, I'm encouraging you to look into bidding for government contracts. On top of that, the federal government wants to award almost a fourth of its contracts to small businesses especially those that are minority-owned and women-owned businesses. Plus, the government has over $500 billion worth of contracts available as a result of the stimulus package.

Grow Your Business with Twitter

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:48:11 -0400

You don't have to spend a big chunk of change on advertising and other traditional marketing tools. This doesn't mean you should stop using traditional marketing, but instead complement it with Twitter and other social media sites.

Pitching in a Tough Market

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:05:22 -0400

Investments by venture capitalists have dropped by half in the first quarter of 2009. On the other hand, the number of people starting or growing a business may be increasing. As such, entrepreneurs have to fight for a limited amount of funding and loans. The last thing you want to do is pitch in a way that loses the investors' or lenders' attention.

Is Your Business Plan on Target?

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:20:03 -0400

It doesn't matter if your business is already up and running or in the beginning stages, it needs to have a document convincing potential investors and lenders that the business is worth the risk. Most business plans don't accomplish this.

One of the most common problems with a business plan is that they lovingly describe the awesome technology, product or service. The people behind these plans believe that readers will fall in love with the idea and invest right away or provide loans.

Your Attitude Affects Your Business

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:16:43 -0400

Running a business takes more than making sure you have cash flow, the right people and high quality product or service. It also requires the right attitude. Yes, the right attitude even with the economy in turmoil.

Control Your Attitude

Don't let the economy and what's happening on the news become your reality. Many businesses continue to thrive -- they don't make it on the news because there's no angle. And the news doesn't report happy stories without an angle.

This Is the Time to Spend Not Cut Back

Capital Solutions Bancorp — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:17:28 -0400

You have probably heard some variation of this quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The quote is attributed to George Santayana. In other words, if you don't learn from history, you're doomed to repeat it. It's OK to fail. That's how we learn not to make the same mistake again. Failure is not an option if you're not going to learn from what went wrong.