When I first started doing freelance work as a graphic designer, life was pretty simple. My daily routine consisted of finding clients who needed graphic design jobs and then producing the design work that I had gotten from my clients. As my business grew, I found my role as graphic designer decreasing and quickly transforming into the role of a manger and owner of a small advertising agency. It was a scary time for me. I was 24 years old and way outside of my comfort zone. Growth brings a unique set of challenges to an inexperienced small business owner. Especially one as ill prepared as I was. I had never had a class on running a small business, had little preparation in accounting, and had never even heard of strategic planning. During this time of rapid growth and business expansion, I would get frustrated because I was often unclear of the role I needed to fill. I had gotten into business because I was a highly skilled technician, not because I was a great manager. Everyday there were important decisions that had to be made about the business. I was sure that I was not making proper decisions and I worried about the future ramifications of those decisions. One day I sat down very frustrated and said to myself: I have to figure out what my job is.

What do I do on a daily basis as the owner of this small business?

The following is the result of that first strategic planning session in my head. I scrawled the following 3 job functions on a note pad.

1. Ensure Profitability

2. Strengthen Relationships (Clients & Vendors)

3. Market Effectively

It was a simple start. I later added 5 additional functions:

4. Direct Creative

5. Control Quality

6. Communicate

7. Vision

8. Bring in Business

Finally, I crossed out Vision and brought it under #6 so it now read: Communicate the Vision.

I had a simplified set of job functions for myself as a small business owner. This piece of paper served to remind me not to get so caught up in the daily tasks at the business that I was not working on my business in the area, which I had outlined. I carried this piece of paper with me for several years. Today, It still serves as a reminder for me to pay attention to the most important job functions I have to manage in order to grow a successful small business.

Do you have a brand that you fully believe in, but are having trouble getting others to believe the same? Perhaps it is not what you are producing that is not catching on, but instead how you are going about promoting your brand. Promoting a brand is one of the quintessential pieces to any business. It not only allows you to spread your brand’s message, but it also allows you to create a voice that you can choose to manipulate in however way you see fit.

With that in mind, it is important that you examine a few key factors before you try and promote. Below are some tips for you to review before you go about creating and developing a voice for your business.

First, look to brands that always get your attention. Do you see a brand that you always take note of when it appears on the television or radio? For some, it might be the McDonalds commercial or the Apple commercials. Notice what they do it order to get your attention and examine the voice and positioning they use for each product. This will help in not only giving you guidance, but will also help in deciding what you do and do not want to use.

Second, try and see that you what is most important to you. Do you pride yourself on the quality first, and then price, or price first and then quality. Although both are equally important, if you have a low price point as compared to your competition, you are more likely to play up your pricing. If your rates noticeably higher, then one should hope that it is because you’re offering a service of higher value. As a result, position each accordingly. Speak more about the quality if that’s what you value, and more about the price if you know you’re rates are the lowest.

Third, look at the vehicles in which you want to use in order to effectively communicate your brand. Would you like to use postcards, billboards, television commercials, social media, online banner buys, etc. An ideal marketing plan would include all of these, but more money will be assessed to certain things dependent on the business. For example, an online company will put more money toward online, buys as opposed to offline and vice versa. Make sure what you choose is appropriate to your brand.

Finally, sit down and come up with the answers to these questions:

- What will you do for me?

- How will you do it?

- Why should I believe you?

Answering these questions will not only help in understanding more about your voice, but will also help in differentiating yourself from the competition. Once these are all answered, use the answers for these in all marketing and PR related activities. That way, you have a clear, unified voice that stands above the rest and is relevant to your company.

Melanie Turner is a Business student at Columbia University. She is also a Researcher at Deloitte Consulting where she works with expert marketing teams on Fortune 500 clients. As a growing expert in the field of marketing, Melanie aims to provide insights and resources to Small Businesses.

Within the past decades, the small business market has noticed a huge boom. Many business owners have experienced success but just as many have experienced failure and bankruptcy. It really is correct that initiating, and starting a small business is not difficult but a variety of factors that need to be considered in targeting a certain market and managing a small business is the challenging part. Those who fail in the small business marketplace are the ones who attempt and overlook the most vital aspects of the business. It may give them a sense of importance in operating an enterprise yet becoming profitable in it is another matter.

As a consequence and the nature of small businesses and organizations, developing business and marketing strategies can be a challenging job. Usually business owners who face these kind of conditions in which their clients and customers are left disappointed by the lack of products and services are the ones who fail. It’s essential for small business owners to seek management consulting solutions in order to be aware of the managerial elements that are crucial for running a productive enterprise. A management consulting firm can offer the company proprietor tactics, techniques as well as the ideal procedures for the business. One of the most important concerns reviewed by consulting companies is that of adapting to a changing business environment, to include a change in client demands, the environment or maybe a change inside the organization itself (employing and firing workers etc).

There are three major elements of every small business which can be taken into consideration by consulting firms to style a general method for your business. The 3 components are:

1. Developments,

2. Modifications

3. Consumer demands

Operating on these three components, a consulting firm can design an overall organizational and operational strategy for the small business to adhere to.

What type of company should use management consulting services?

Any small business regardless of whether it’s a mid-size or a small company should as a result of the consultation method, in order to have knowledge the locations and marketing demographics that need to be targeted, and why. These factors could seem unimportant to begin with, yet in the long run; these minimal factors could determine the success for that business. Every entrepreneur wants their small business to be successful so every segment of professional advice can go a long way in obtaining business goals.

Utilizing a consulting company to assist you to manage or develop your business is at times difficult to accomplish. In many situations individuals and entrepreneurs’ are protective of their businesses, and they let pride get the way of success. Those who take the leap of faith and make a decision to obtain professional help are the ones who are ready to take the actions necessary to achieve the desired results.