small business Archives - KNS Financial

Professional And Affordable Logo Design Service IS Possible!

[The following is a sponsored post, but all opinions, thoughts, and words are unbiased – you can read our full disclosure here.]

KNS Financial has been in business for a little over 7 years (existing in several different forms) and in that time, we’ve always had trouble finding dependable design services. Whether it was deciding on our basic color palette, trying to decide on a logo, creating stationary, designing business cards, it has always been difficult to find professional help at a reasonable cost.

To get those things done can cost thousands of dollars, depending on what’s involved and what all the designer gives you at the end of the process. To be honest, we’ve heard so many horror stories about people either using friends (or even friends of friends), looking on various ‘classified-type’ sites, or even finding a cheap gig on freelance websites.

Fortunately, Sherrian is extremely creative and we’ve been able to use her color schemes and designs for most of our creative work (logos, headers, and even the design of our free course on worshipful giving). However, there are things that are beyond her scope and our software, and for that we need to look to professionals.

Since creating a side-business or even a full-time business is something that we strongly believe in and talk about often, we are always on the look out for companies or marketplaces where we can find designers with the right mix of professional and affordable. So when Deluxe Business Services reached out to me about their products, I immediately had to take a look.

Deluxe Business Services

When we’ve looked at other services and individuals, most of them simply asked for a list of keywords that represented our business and then went off on their own to create the design.

However, Deluxe Business Services doesn’t take such a minimalistic approach. They actually take you through an entire process that is designed to take as much of your input as possible and come up with the perfect logo that represents your business.

Great Prices for What You Are Getting

This process involves a “Creative Brief and Brainstorming” session, initial concepts for you to review, and then a chance for feedback & finalization of your design. What I found amazing about this process is that you can have up to 5 designers working on your project and receive up to 50 design concepts with unlimited revisions!

They have 3 plans that you can choose from: Bronze ($245), Silver ($395), and Gold ($645). The extremely low price for bronze (with 2 designers, 2 revisions, and 10 design concepts) initially caught my eye, but once I saw all that comes with the other packages, I believe that the Gold package would be the best option.

In addition to the unlimited revisions, 5 designers, and 50 concepts, you also receive the font and color codes used (so matching future designs to your logos will be simple even if you use another vendor or do it yourself), custom email signature design, stationary designs (letterhead, fax cover sheets, envelopes), and even 1,000 business cards designed by their team to include and match your logo!

Discounts for KNS Financial Readers

I guess you can see why I think that the Gold package would be the best option. However, if that is outside of your budget at the moment, you can still get a great deal for less than $250! Deluxe Business Services was kind enough to offer our readers a $25 discount on their inexpensive Bronze package. That discount goes up to $40 off of the Silver package, and $50 off of the Gold Design Package (bringing to price to under 600).

Even if you aren’t sure exactly which package fits both your budget and your goals, you can always reach out to them for a free phone consultation in order to figure out which plan is best.

If you are looking to represent your business and brand properly, having a professional logo and consistent design is a must. To be able to do that without breaking the bank is the dream of every entrepreneur, and with Deluxe Business Services, it is no longer a dream.

If you use Deluxe Business Services to create your logo (or for any other design services) let us know. We would love to see what you choose and how it turns out for you!

6 Steps to Creating a Successful Home-Based Business

By guest

There are all sorts of people ready to tell you how to be successful at creating a home based business. In some cases, many of the same suggestions are shared.

The following are some standard, but extremely useful steps to creating a successful home-based business.

1. Create a Work Environment that you can Work in

Imag via Flickr by Martin Terber

It might require purchasing some professional office equipment and furniture, but put together a work space where you feel comfortable and able to function. Be sure the equipment is both what you need and as ergonomic as possible.

You’re going to be spending a good deal of time in this room and you don’t want to suffer because you provided yourself with substandard work essentials.

2. Keep Overhead Costs Low

Depending upon the business you create for yourself, there could be a fair amount of overhead. Keeping the amount of overhead at the right balance is critical. Remember, it’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you keep.

Working from home has its advantages, but preventing bankruptcy isn’t necessarily one of them. You can over extend yourself if you’re not careful, particularly in overspending in technology.

3. Remember to Spend some Time On your Business

Most people work in their business, forgetting to work on their business as well. A home based business usually consists of one person – you. As such, it’s easy to get caught up in the operation – the product or service delivery. But you must also remember to allocate time to working on your business also.

That includes finances, vision, strategy, marketing plans: the infrastructure. It’s the difference between being successful and just making it through each day.

4. Increase Your Skills and Education

If you were in a business working for someone else, you would probably attend training and education seminars. It’s important to keep the axe sharp, and the same goes for home based businesses. Gain as much education as you can; attend groups that focus on the same business as the one you’ve started; even go back to school.

Entrepreneurs are well served by getting an online MBA AACSB. Consider this seriously as its worth more to you to invest in yourself, since in many ways, you are your business.

5. Work on Your Branding

Many home-based entrepreneurs don’t understand the importance of creating a positive, powerful identity for their business. A good brand will include confirming your credibility, delivering your message clearly, motivating buyers, connecting with prospects on an emotional level, and finally, securing user loyalty.

6. You Work From Home – Not At Home

This is hard thing for many at-home workers to put into practice. You may work from your home, but you also live there. Be able to separate the two. Set time limits so that you “come home” and everyone understands that your “at home” time has begun. Keep at home time sacrosanct.

Starting a home-based business can be tricky and requires all the expertise of any entrepreneurial enterprise. Learn from other’s mistakes. Get more education. And have the confidence to push through until you’re successful.

Discovering the Right Business for You

By Kevin M

Do you think much about going into your own business one day? This is just a guess on my part, but I think most people do. There’s something inside of all of us that wants to step out of our routine and take on the challenge of self-employment. But that brings up the question, what is the right business for me?

The answer to that question could be the difference between the success and failure of whatever business you choose. I think there is a workable business idea out there for everyone of us, it’s just a matter of finding the right one. How do you do that?

Bring It To God

Prayer doesn’t always bring miracles to our lives, but I do think that enough of it brings clarification. If you seriously want to go into your own business, pray about it. Ask God to reveal to you if a) being self-employed is the right move for you, and if it is, b) what business should you go to?

God doesn’t usually give us direct answers, but I think that He does put a lot of clues in front of us when we ask for His help. So pray hard and often, and then strike out and be ready for whatever revelations you receive.

What Is It That You Like To Do?

The next step is to ask yourself what it is you like to do? Whatever the question is, you should be fully open to the possibility. No matter what it is we do for a living, everyone of us has one or more other things in life that we’re passionate about. Some of those – but certainly not all – could be the basis of your business.

When you become self-employed, doing something you really like to do becomes really important. There will be times in the life of your business when you will want to give up. But when you actually like what you do it’s much easier to continue going forward. Passion also generates creativity, and that opens up new options. What you like to do, you’ll do well, and that will increase your chances of success.

There is an important caveat here however. Not everything that we like to do can be converted into a profitable business, or at least not easily. For example, if you really love swimming, it will be a very difficult activity to monetize unless you have an Olympic gold medal somewhere in your background.

It’s a difficult balance finding a way to mix passion and profitability. But that’s also an excellent place to start.

Identifying Your Talents And Skills

Every one of us have certain talents and skills. Some of them are ones we’ve been using in our working lives already. Others are yet to be discovered. But talents and skills are also a very good place to start looking for business ideas. They can be the building blocks of whatever business you ultimately decide to enter.

As an example, if you’re the go to person at your place of employment for all things computer related, you might be able start a business doing something similar on a retail basis. There are lots of small businesses out there that are struggling with computer issues. If you can get them moving forward, you may have discovered a business niche.

If you are in sales, you have a built-in business skill. Even if you’re not particularly excited about the product you are currently selling, you may be able use your sales skills to sell another product line that you really believe in.

Try this–make an informal resume. It should list only your skills, and not be concerned with previous employment. When you see a comprehensive list of your skill set right front of you, it may help you to get answers as to what type of business you will be well suited for.

If it is possible, the key is to merge your skill set with your passions, and launch your business from there.

Consult With The People Who Know You Best

After you’ve done a good bit of self-evaluation, it’s always best to get an outside opinion. The more you can get, the better. Go to the people who know you well, let them know that you are thinking about starting a business, and that you’d like their opinion as to what type of business you should go into.

Two things will happen here; either they will confirm an idea or two that you have already had for yourself, or they will present you with a new idea you never thought of.

Remember how we started by saying “bring it to God in prayer“? At this point, you’ve prayed about it, you’ve identified your passions and skills, and now you’re getting feedback from people who you trust. The combination of the three will bring you a lot closer to your answer.

Once you have that answer, be ready to run with it. And don’t look back.

photo credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

The Importance Of Social Media For Small Business

By guest

The following is a guest post about the importance of social media for small business…

Social Media For Small Business

The most successful of entrepreneurs are those who not only scout emerging opportunities, but seize them before their competitors.While it is the case that social media and networking has been wildly popular for some time, it is only recently that small businesses are beginning to integrate such sites into their primary marketing strategies.

The world of social media seems now to have developed readily into a sphere from which visible business growth can begin to flourish. Increasingly, more and more small businesses are setting up Twitter and Facebook profiles and as a way to communicate with their customers.

As social media is becoming more and more vital to industry, companies are seeking to ensure that they are covered against the luring away of their most able employees. Speaking with insurers such as Hiscox – Business Insurance Specialist is a good way to see that your business is covered against any loss that social media could have on your business.

The Scale of Social Media Presence

A study by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth highlights that an astonishing 74% of businesses listed on the 2011 ‘Inc. 500’ now has a presence on Facebook, with almost as many also present on LinkedIn. The study^* went on to recognize and analyze a change in companies’ behavior in social media, noting a shift from blogging to the more interactive services mentioned above.

Marketing and business strategy is founded on the careful study of customers’ habits and this increase in the use of social media to promote businesses reflects the most recent and important example of this in today’s market. This shift shows a positive and new approach to research and is a prime example of how small businesses and entrepreneurs can capitalize on the broader practices of larger companies in their own industry.

When we take a look at the figures surrounding the use of social media, it is no surprise that businesses are moving swiftly onto these sites. HeBS Digital published information in 2012 which showed that nearly half of internet users participate personally in social media.

Those internet users are now estimated to spend 17% of their time on the web browsing social media pages. Crucially it also found that 44% of those using the social media site Twitter claim to have interacted with a brand on the site following some kind of online promotion or discount offer.

Responsible Use of Social Media For Small Business

The statistics which focus on use of social media are hard to ignore, but the implications of integration into social media are not necessarily as purely positive as it might seem. The coverage your business can receive from an online presence is considerable, but it is important for small businesses to bear in mind the responsibility with which this comes.

Your use of social media is likely to become the primary point of engagement with customers on the internet. Therefore it is essential that you operate your page in the same manner which you operate in all others aspects of running your business, for instance on the shop floor.

When small businesses make the move to social media, it is important that they do so with an amount of conviction and commitment. The reputation of a small business can be hugely affected by its presence online and it is essential that social media usage does not ignore this.

Customers nowadays are always looking for vibrant and buoyant services and a boring and unchanging Facebook page is likely to put them off.Likewise, if businesses have an account with Twitter, it is wise for them to post regularly.

Not only does this ensure that the company is interacting positively and regularly with its customer base, but it shows its audience that it is an active and positive business and really believes in the platform.

With such an array of free advertising and marketing opportunities, reaching customers is no longer about the size and wealth of a company. Rather it has become about the ability to entice customers and to outdo competitors on a level playing field.

The internet has made the market a more equal place, but in doing so it has intensified competition. In order to stay ahead, small businesses must adapt in line with the development of the web.

*[This study is sourced from http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesandresearch/2012inc500socialmediaupdate]

Photo by Vichie81