![]() Are you inspired to launch an eco-friendly business in your area? You can start creating the changes that you want to see in your community! Allen Marketing Communications, a NYC boutique travel and lifestyle public relations agency, explains why small businesses bring so many benefits to communities and how you can build your eco-friendly business. Why Start a Local Business? Local businesses bring resources, jobs, and money to small communities. In fact, Pineapple Payments states that small businesses are often more adaptable and more receptive to their customers’ needs and preferences than larger corporations. This is because they are part of the fabric of the community just like the customers they serve, which means they have a deeper connection to their customer base. Invest in Cybersecurity Before launching, have a plan in place for cyber security data protection. Look into hiring experts like Comm Vault to help deter and even prevent ill-willed hackers from breaching your business data, which can come in many forms, including malware, ransomware, SEO spam, and viruses. Data shows that downtime has been experienced by 68 percent of organizations due to cyber security cases – you don’t want to be a statistic. This is especially true if you receive customer data such as personal and financial information, which, if stolen, can wreak havoc on you financially and reputationally. Your Business Launch To-Do List You might have a million ideas for your new business running through your mind, so it’s important to organize your thoughts. Sit down and outline a business plan that includes details about the products and services you want to offer, as well as how you want to market them. You can also include a budgeting section with figures for your estimated variable and fixed expenses. Furthermore, this is the time to incorporate your business (as an S-Corp or LLC) with your state, which will entail choosing your company’s name and structure. It is important to secure your FEIN (also known as federal tax identification number) and open a bank account. As your business grows and you start to think about hiring employees, then it is necessary workers compensation and commercial general liability insurance for your business. Unless you want to run a home-based business, you will also need to start looking for a co-working space or an office or retail space to rent. If you’re planning to open a store, you’ll want to look into areas with ample foot traffic and plenty of parking! And if you’re seeking office space, a quieter neighborhood could be a good choice. Hiring Your First Employees As a small business owner, you have the opportunity to bring fulfilling new jobs into your town. Hiring your first employees is a major step, but with the right strategy, you’ll be able to find great candidates - some of whom might come from your own local social circle! To start the hiring process, Salesforce recommends clearly defining the roles, asking your friends and relatives for referrals, planning targeted interview questions in advance, and acting quickly to extend an offer when you find a candidate you like. Community Engagement Through ongoing community engagement efforts, you can help more people in your community learn about environmentalism and help them see the value of having sustainable businesses in your area. For example, you could host regular neighborhood cleanups and bring people together who share your concerns about the same issues. In addition, you can get in touch with local charities to develop partnerships. You may be able to support an environmental nonprofit that focuses on protecting local ecosystems and donate a portion of your profits to their programs. You can also organize volunteer days with local charities! Small business owners can cause waves of positive changes in their communities. You can begin educating your neighbors and friends about sustainability through your business. Before you know it, your community will be ready to embrace eco-friendly lifestyle changes! Market Your Business As a start-up eco-friendly business, it is important to market your business to generate brand and consumer awareness and build loyal customers. Blogs are an inexpensive way to increase your ranking as it pertains to online searches. It is important to weave your SEO keywords into your blogs and post at least two blogs on your website each week. As your eco-friendly business grows, then you should consider hiring a PR agency to generate credible third-party editorial stories in print, broadcast and online media. PR is an effective way to enhance a company's digital presence when stories appear online through direct links from a media outlet to your website Social media is an important marketing tool to inspire first time customers to learn about your business and to build loyal customers. It is important to develop your business pages for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google My Business and post two or three times a week to build loyal customers. Digital display advertising is another effective marketing tool to customers to learn about your business. You simply set your target budget, target markets and key messages to inspire consumers to click on your digital ad and learn about your business Reach out to Allen Marketing Communications to learn how our team can help you build your eco-friendly business. Guest post: Chelsea Lamb at Business Pop Photo credit: Unsplash
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