As businesses in various industries are slowly permitted to reopen throughout the country, many entrepreneurs are wondering how they can adapt their marketing strategies for this current phase of the pandemic recovery. Naturally, you want to let people know that you’re open for business again, but you don’t want to overspend on marketing, especially if your profits will be lower than usual this year.

These tips will guide you through the process of outlining a cost-effective marketing plan that can reach new customers and clients without going over your budget.

Revise Your Business Budget

Before you start brainstorming, you’ll need to revise your business budget to determine how much you can invest in marketing over the next few months. Re-opening your business and making changes to your marketing strategy will definitely require some up-front investment, even if your aim is to develop a budget-friendly advertising plan. That’s why...

A sizable piece of running an effective and cohesive team relies on a leader’s ability to influence the behavior of the whole team.  We’re going to outline some of the key steps you can take toward being this kind of influencer.

1 - Setting clear expectations

2 - Encouraging an atmosphere of respect in your office

3 - Emphasizing the process over the result

4 - Being the example

Communicate clear expectations and give context for those expectations

If your team members know precisely what you expect, and why it matters, they’re better able to hold themselves accountable for meeting those expectations. If each person is aware of those 2 things – the desired outcome and why it’s important - they can discern for themselves the “how.” This both aligns your employees with your business goals and gets them engaged in achieving them.  

A simple activity to do is to get your team together and have them all share with you what they...

This is a guest post by certified life coach, Elena Stewart

It’s no surprise that the coronavirus lockdown is having a major impact on small businesses. As many retailers have been forced to close and consumers are hesitant to spend on non-essentials during this period of financial uncertainty, small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Despite these setbacks, there’s a lot business owners can do to drive sales and prepare for reopening. From short-term cash flow strategies to in-store improvements, here are some effective ways to keep your business going during the pandemic.

Learn from Your Competition

Look for businesses that are managing to get by during the pandemic to find out which strategies might work for you.

• Small business retailers are driving immediate revenue by promoting gift cards, offering pre-orders, and discounting underperforming products.
• Restaurants have shifted their focus to take-out and delivery services.
• Service-based...