Small businesses enjoyed strong holiday sales, reporting an estimated $17 billion in spending on Small Business Saturday alone, according to American Express. A successful holiday season is the key to survival for many shops, said Dave Charest, director of small business success at Constant Contact, which helps millions of small businesses globally. Half of small business owners say holiday shoppers are important to their success throughout the year, and 75% of retailers report those sales account for 25% of their annual revenue, Charest said. “People are doing well right now and are confident coming out of the holidays,” he said. “They’re looking for ways to continue that momentum.” One common misstep is that many businesses have no plan to retain first-time customers, he said. The disconnect is a lost opportunity to growth their customer base. Ahead of the holiday shopping season 84% of consumers said they planned to buy from a new small business, yet afterward 27% of first-time customers never heard from the business again, Charest said. Constant Contact helps small businesses develop a plan to stay in touch with returning and new customers throughout the year, so the business is top-of-mind when shoppers are ready to buy or are asked to recommend as business. “It’s really about helping to make small businesses better marketers,” Charest said. “It can really have an impact.” The start of the year is also when many people decide to start their own businesses. It can be done for about $10,000, depending on the nature of the business, Charest said. “In the climate we’re in, there’s never been a better time to turn a side hustle into a small business,” he said. The pandemic-induced economic downturn resulted in a lot of layoffs that spurred people’s creativity, Charest said. One husband-and-wife team he knows went from making hot sauce on the side to launching a business. Forbes contributor Rachel Wells agrees there never has been a better time to start a business. “Prospects are certainly bright for aspiring entrepreneurs,” she wrote in a Nov. 16 article, noting the global side hustle industry is projected to swell to $14.39 billion by the year 2030. “If you’re considering dabbling in entrepreneurship and believe you have the skills, drive, and knowledge to invest in and grow your own venture, here are six reasons you should definitely give it a shot in 2024,” Wells wrote. Artificial intelligence . AI-powered business tools are available to help with manual tasks such as accounting, content creation, customer service, templates, marketing and many aspects of running a business that traditionally take a long time to accomplish.
Work from home. Expanded capabilities to work remotely reduces accessibility issues or the need to worry about how your business could interfere with your personal and family responsibilities.
Easy networking. Professional networking for business opportunities is now easier thanks to social platforms such as LinkedIn, which saw a spike in usage from 675 million members in the first quarter of 2020 to approximately 950 million by the third quarter of 2023.
Freelance marketplaces. Thanks to sites such as Fiverr, UpWork and LinkedIn’s services section included in personal LinkedIn profiles, you can promote your services and place your skills in front of thousands of customers.
Website creation. A variety of popular and lesser-known website-builders such as Wix, Carrd, Squarespace and Shopify allow you to create your own professional site for a fraction of the cost it would take to hire a developer. Many have pre-built customizable templates.
Talent for hire. Pandemic layoffs left an enormous talent pool of ex-employees that are providing independent consulting services as they look for work. You could pay them for their services such as graphic design, business advising or marketing.
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