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Last updated: February 14, 2025
The majority of businesses in the United States are small businesses. Unfortunately, only about half of them will exceed the five-year mark. If you find that your business is losing ground and you cannot show a profit, there are things you can do to turn it around.
What This Article Covers
- Business Longevity Challenges: Understanding why many small businesses struggle to survive beyond five years.
- Funding Your Business: Exploring financing options, including
small business loans, HELOCs, and credit cards. - Effective Marketing Strategies: Utilizing social media,
email marketing , and local engagement to attract and retain customers. - Importance of a Professional Website: How a well-designed website can enhance brand credibility and drive
sales . - Community Engagement Benefits: Leveraging local events and sponsorships to establish a strong business presence.
- Customer Service & Retention: Building loyalty through excellent service and
customer satisfaction strategies. - Eco-Friendly Business Practices: The advantages of sustainable packaging and its impact on
customer loyalty. - Hiring & Retaining Talent: Recruiting qualified employees and implementing incentives to maintain a productive workforce.
Money to Invest
Unfortunately, money can make or break a business. You can have terrific
The Smart Way to Fund Your Business
- Find your best loan offer from competing lenders
- Loans up to $5M.
- Checking rates won't affect your credit score.
Marketing
Marketing is one of the most essential components to the success of any business, large or small. Without attracting new customers, you remain stagnant at best. The good news is that there are several ways to target your audience at a relatively low cost. Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook can give your business access to a lot of traffic you can direct to your website.
Presentable Website
In today’s digital age, having a well-designed and presentable website is crucial for the success of small businesses.
By partnering with a nearshore team of software developers, you can ensure that
Easy-to-Use Accounting & Bookkeeping Features. Invoicing and Accounting Tools Built for Any Sized Business
Part of the Community
Business owners may launch a successful campaign to attract new customers, but they often forget the benefits of their surrounding community. Having a presence lets you connect with existing customers and make new ones. It also forms a long-lasting bond and helps to brand your company as not only reputable but as a member of their community. Sponsoring events or taking up a booth at the local fair will provide positive results.
Customer Service
If as many customers go out the back door as you bring in, you won’t grow. To reach the next level of success, you must maintain a loyal base and grow from there.
A good business needs to start as a functional, basic idea. Let’s say you want to start a baked goods company. First, you should be able to make, package, and ship a great cookie. If you can create a cookie which could, theoretically, sustain your business indefinitely, then your idea is a good one. From the cookie foundation, you can build into other baked goods, expanding your business model. But you’ve started from a solid platform. Many businesses do not start from a sustainable mode, and it’s challenging for them to grow from that point.” – Is Starting a Business Right for Me?
Customer Loyalty
Many business owners don’t properly utilize their existing customers. A loyal base can bring in many additional
Small businesses need to implement eco-friendly packaging to succeed in today’s marketplace. With an increasing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly products, customers appreciate businesses prioritizing eco-friendliness. Green packaging can enhance
Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
Qualified Employees
Every business needs qualified employees to achieve success. Many companies now use recruiters to gain access to talented individuals instead of searching through a large pile of applications. Once you find them, keeping them in your employment is also necessary. One way an employer can retain their talent is through incentive programs where the more
The online workshop is an invaluable asset to any
If your business is not gaining ground in the growth department, look at how you operate. Is your marketing campaign working? Are you active in the community? Do you have qualified individuals on your staff? Do you also have funds available to
This completely revised second edition once again shows entrepreneurs the keys to determining the best business opportunities, creating a business plan, and formulating a winning marketing strategy.
Joey Trebif is the pen name of Mark Fiebert, a former finance executive who hired and managed dozens of professionals during his 30-plus-year career. He now shares expert job search, resume, and career advice on CareerAlley.com.