Milk-Free Sources of Calcium

 

How to Meet Calcium Needs When You Can't Eat Dairy

By Jill Castle, MS, RD (about.com)

Updated June 10, 2014

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

Milk allergy means dairy-free, but dairy contains some of the highest sources of calcium for growing bodies and bones.

While most (80%) children will outgrow a milk allergy by the age of 5, most milk allergies will resolve by adolescence. Meanwhile, during this time of growth and development, where do kids and teens manage to get enough calcium? And if you are an adult, how do you maintain adequate calcium intake?

If you are wondering why calcium is so important, it’s helpful to understand bone development in childhood. Bones develop at a rapid pace during childhood and adolescence and this time frame is known as the peak bone growth phase of life.

Essentially, like a bank, calcium from the food we eat is deposited into bone, helping them grow and strengthen. During the second and third decades, this process is at its greatest, something called peak bone growth. After young adulthood is reached, bone accumulation stops and the name of the game is bone preservation.

Bone density is preserved when enough calcium (and vitamin D) is consumed daily. When bone growth is completed, the bone bank withdrawal system kicks in. If low amounts of calcium are consumed, the bone bank offers up calcium for the normal functioning of other tissues, especially the heart and muscles. Therefore, it is important to build bones when you can, during middle childhood and adolescence, and maintain the integrity of bone in adulthood, partly through adequate consumption of calcium-containing foods.

Here is the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for calcium among all age groups, according to the Institute of Medicine (IOM):

1-3 years: 700 milligrams (mg) calcium per day

4-8 years: 1,000 mg calcium per day

9-13 years: 1,300 mg calcium per day

14-18 years: 1,300 mg calcium per day

19-50 years: 1,000 mg calcium per day

51-70 year old males: 1,000 mg calcium per day

51-70 year old females: 1,200 mg calcium per day

>70 years old: 1,200 mg calcium per day

When you have a food allergy to milk, the consistent and adequate intake of calcium can be compromised, and this can be a real concern during those peak bone-building years. In fact, girls from ages 9-18 years are at particular risk for poor bone health, as intake data consistently shows this age group is missing out on enough calcium in the diet. Girls with food allergy to milk are at an even higher risk.

Milk substitutes can be a source of calcium, but not all milk substitutes are created equally. Some, like soy milk, will have similar calcium amounts per cup as cow’s milk (about 300 mg per cup), while others may vary in their calcium load. Plus, calcium is added to alternative milks and may come out of solution. In other words, the calcium may settle to the bottom of the milk container. Be sure to shake your alternative milk prior to drinking, and read the ingredient label to get the most calcium per cup you can find in your dairy-free alternative.

Other non-dairy foods contain calcium, and many believe it's easy to match calcium requirements on these foods alone. You can, as there are certainly many foods to choose from, but you’ll be eating quite a bit of some foods. And, remember, if you are dealing with a child with a milk allergy, you may be hard-pressed to get him to eat some of these non-dairy calcium-rich foods.

Here are a list of calcium-containing non-dairy foods and the amount you’ll need to eat to match the calcium content of an 8-ounce glass of cow's milk.

How Much Do I Eat to Match the Calcium in Cow’s Milk?

Food

Amount to Equal 300 mg calcium

Calcium-fortified orange juice / Sardines, canned in oil 3 ounces / Tofu, firm, made with calcium sulfate / Salmon, canned 3 ounces

Tofu, soft, made with calcium sulfate / Fresh turnip greens 1 ½ cups / Fresh kale 1 ½ cups / Bok Choy 4 cups / White bread 4 slices

Broccoli 7 ½ cups / Hummus 2 ½ cups / Pinto beans, canned 3 cups / Sesame seeds 4 tablespoons

Blackstrap molasses 2 tablespoons.

If you're worried that your milk allergic child (or yourself!) may not be getting adequate calcium from food, check with a nutrition professional who can assist with a meal plan that can cover the unique needs of you or your child. If you have a difficult time matching the daily calcium requirements with milk-free food options, consider talking with your allergist or doctor about a calcium supplement. Multivitamins and mineral supplements generally do not contain significant amounts of calcium, so a stand-alone calcium supplement or a calcium + vitamin D chew may be needed.

When a $150 Printer Can Cost You Thousands

 

Why what you spend on consumables is far more important than price

By William Harrel ( about.com)

What many would-be printer buyers don’t understand is that choosing a printer solely on purchase price could cost you hundreds, even thousands over the life of the printer. Why? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that, “Printer manufacturers make their money on ink (or toner, for laser-class printers).” In many cases, that’s oh so true, especially in high-volume print environments. It’s easy to spend as much on consumables as you originally spend on the printer several times over—and then some.

Printer makers publish all sorts of stats and ratings about their printers, such as pages per minute (ppm), resolution, or dots per inch (dpi), and so on. An important rating is the machine’s maximum monthly duty cycle, which is the number of pages the manufacturer suggests you can print without undue wear on the printer. Low-volume printers, such as HP’s Envy 5530 e-All-in-One, have small duty cycles of a few hundred to a couple thousand pages, and high-volume models, like Epson’s WorkForce Pro WP-4590, have big duty cycles sometimes consisting of as much as 80,000 to 100,000 pages or more.

High-volume printers, of course, cost considerably more than their lower-volume counterparts. The two printers in the above paragraph, for instance, have nearly a $300 price spread between them. But as I’m about to show you, buying a low-volume model when your environment really calls for a high-volume model can turn out to be a costly mistake.

The ink or toner cartridges, the consumables, also come with various ratings, including “page yield,” or the number of pages each cartridge can print, and cost per page (CPP). The CPP is the ongoing cost of using the printer on a per-page basis, which we derive by dividing the cartridge price by the manufacturer’s page yield ratings, and then multiplying that sum by the number of cartridges. (Yes, I know this sounds complicated, but, as you can see in this article, “How to Estimate a Printer's Cost Per Page,” it’s not really.

The CPP varies widely from printer to printer, by as much as four or five cents for monochrome, or black-and-white pages, and sometimes more than 10 cents for color pages. With per-page cost differences this steep, it’s easy to see how one printer, at, say, 15-cents per color page, would cost you a lot more to use than another model with a low five-cent CPP. Printing one hundred pages on the former will cost you $10 more than printing the same 100 pages on the latter. If you print 1,000 pages per month, you’ll spend an additional $100 each month—that’s over $1,000 each year!

But what if there’s only a one-cent, or perhaps half a cent, difference in the CPP between one printer and another. A penny per page doesn’t sound like much, does it? If you print only 100 pages each month, it’s not. But if your home-based or small office churns out thousands of pages each month, a one-cent difference can cost you plenty. At one cent per page, 10,000 pages cost an additional $100 each month, or $1,200 per year—you can buy three or four high-volume models for that!

High-volume printers can also save you money in a few other ways: They’re faster, and time is, after all, money. Also, since they’re built to print substantially more pages than the cheaper low-volume models, they’re much more likely to hold up to the heavy work load you put on them. In addition, most high-volume printers support larger, higher-yield cartridges, which means you won’t have to replace them as often.

Essential Nutrients for Dogs and Cats

 

Ellie Shelburne (about.com)

There are five essential nutrients that one can find on the back of a label for dog and cat food, and these are very important for the well-being of your pet. The first essential nutrient is water, one that's important for all of us. While canned foods do have a sizable amount of water in them, it's very important that both cats and dogs have a fresh source of water all of the time.

The second essential nutrient is protein. Protein sources are meat or beans or soy. Dogs are not obligate carnivores, so they don't have to eat meat protein to survive; dogs can be vegetarians very successfully. Cats, however, require very specific fats and proteins, and really, it's very hard to make a cat a vegetarian and it's very important to feed them the meat proteins.

The third essential nutrient are carbohydrates. Corn and wheat serve a purpose in food and can be very helpful. However, each animal is different and your veterinarian can help advise you.

The fourth essential nutrients are fats. Fats are actually a very important part of the diet. Cats have a specific fat they need called linoleic acid to survive. Another aspect of it is if you can add the omega-3 fatty acids in a reasonable amount in their foods, they can act as an anti-inflammatory and reduce inflammation in joints, and kidneys, and some of the prescription diets use those very well to reduce even cancer.

Vitamins and Minerals for Dogs and Cats

The final essential nutrient that you need to look for are really two: vitamins and minerals. Minerals are things like calcium and phosphorous; vitamins are things like vitamin A (another essential ingredient to a cat's diet - they can't make the vitamin A themselves, so they have to have it directly). I highly recommend that people choose a high-quality pet food that has had feeding trials. It's very important to find your veterinarian and talk to them about finding the right balance of all those nutrients.

Veterinarian: Career Information

 

By Dawn Rosenberg McKay (about.com)

Job Description:

Veterinarians tend to the healthcare needs of animals, including pets, livestock, and zoo and laboratory animals. Most vets work in private clinics treating companion animals, for example dogs and cats. They diagnose illnesses and perform medical procedures.

A small number are equine veterinarians who treat horses, and food animal vets who work with farm animals. There are some vets who specialize in food safety and inspection. They check livestock for illnesses that can be transmitted to humans. Others are research veterinarians who do research on human and animal health conditions.

Employment Facts:

In 2010 veterinarians held just over 61,000 jobs in the US. The vast majority had jobs in the veterinary services industry, while others worked for colleges or universities, medical or research laboratories, or the government. Approximately nine percent were self-employed.

Educational Requirements:

To become a veterinarian one must earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) degree from an accredited college of veterinary medicine. Although many schools admit applicants who don't have a bachelor's degree, having one will increase your odds of getting accepted. There is keen competition for entry into this four year program.

^{Why Do You Need to Know About Educational Requirements?}

Other Requirements:

In order to practice in the US, a veterinarian must have a license. In addition to graduating from an accredited veterinary program, to become licensed one must pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE) administered by the . Many states also administer their own exams.

Although it is not required, many veterinarians choose to become certified in an area of specialization, for example surgery or internal medicine. Requirements vary by specialty but may include experience in that area, passing an examination, spending additional time in school or completing a three to four year residency program.

In addition to formal training, to be successful as a veterinarian one needs certain qualities he or she can't learn in school. Number one on this list is compassion, both toward the animals they treat and their owners. He or she also needs good decision-making skills to aid in choosing appropriate treatment methods. Good interpersonal skills are also a must as one spends time communicating with animal owners, staff members and colleagues. Manual dexterity and strong problem-solving skills are also important.

Job Outlook:

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an excellent outlook for this occupation. The agency predicts it will experience faster job growth, through 2020, than most other occupations that require at least a master's degree

^{Why Do You Need to Know About Job Outlook?}

Earnings:

Veterinarians earned a median annual salary of $82,900 in 2011 and median hourly earnings of $39.86.

A Day in a Veterinarian's Life:

On a typical day a veterinarian working with small animals, for example dogs, cats, birds and reptiles, in clinical practice will:

• diagnose animals' health problems
• vaccinate their patients against diseases, such as distemper and rabies
• medicate animals suffering from infections or illnesses
• treat and dress wounds
• set fractures
• perform surgery
• advise owners about animal feeding, behavior and breeding
• euthanize animals when necessary

On a typical day a veterinarian working with large animals, primarily horses and cows, will:

• provide preventive care to maintain the health of food animals
• test for and vaccinate against diseases
• consult with farm or ranch owners and managers on animal production, feeding, and housing issues
• treat and dress wounds, set fractures, and perform surgery

Top 10 Reasons to Become a Vet

 

By Mary Hope Kramer (about.com)

Veterinary medicine is one of the most popular and rewarding career options for animal lovers.  Here are ten of the best reasons to pursue a career as a veterinarian.

1.  Help animals on a daily basis

One of the greatest benefits of a career in veterinary medicine is the chance to promote the health and welfare of your patients.  You also have the ability to relieve the suffering of animals that have experienced traumatic injuries or chronic illnesses.  Even routine spay and neuter surgeries help the animals in your community by reducing pet overpopulation.

2.  Every day is different

No two days are alike for a veterinarian.  You will get to examine different types of animals, see a variety of injuries and conditions, and utilize many diagnostic tools to determine the best plan of action.  You never know what will come through the clinic door on any given day.

3.  Good Salary

Veterinary medicine is certainly one of the animal careers that can offer an excellent salary (though you do have to take into consideration all the educational costs of obtaining that coveted DVM degree).  Most veterinarians earn a salary that is between $50,000 and $150,000 per year.  Those with additional specialty training or board certification can earn even higher salaries.

4.  Community interaction

Vets get to meet many members of the community by virtue of seeing their animals for appointments and emergencies.  They also have the chance to educate and advise owners about a variety of important health issues such as spay/neuter programs and proper nutrition for their animals.

5.  Utilize problem solving skills

There is some detective work that has to be done to evaluate each case, and a key trait of a veterinarian is that they enjoy this challenge.  The animal obviously can’t explain what is bothering them, so you’ll have to figure things out based on the physical exam, lab tests, and owner comments.

6.  Being your own boss

While you may start out working for an established clinic, you will always have the option of starting your own practice (perhaps even a mobile practice, which greatly reduces start-up costs).  You can also become a partner in the established clinic if they are looking to expand or if other vets are planning to retire.  Most vets have a degree of flexibility in their schedules, particularly as they become more established.

7. Lifetime of learning

Veterinarians never stop learning new things.  Continuing education hours are required to renew your license to practice medicine, and most vets would want to learn about new techniques and innovations even if there was no official requirement.  The industry is constantly evolving and it is important to keep up with the latest developments so that you can provide the best possible care to your clients.  Vets can also pursue board certification in a specialty area, which requires a great deal of additional training and hands on experience.

8.  Many career options

You can use your veterinary background to transition into a variety of roles with other organizations such as veterinary pharmaceutical sales companies, feed companies, wildlife agencies, laboratories, academic institutions, or the military.  Corporate vets in particular tend to earn top dollar and work normal business hours.  You don’t have to limit yourself to a traditional private practice seeing patients each day.

9.  Working with other animal lovers

Veterinarians have the opportunity to lead a team of animal lovers including veterinary technicians, kennel attendants, and office staff.  It makes a difference when all the employees at an office truly enjoy what they do for a living, and in this line of work people are truly committed to helping animals.

10. It is the animal related “dream job”

Veterinary medicine is by far the most popular “dream job” for animal lovers, and many kids start mentioning their interest in this career path at a very young age.  If you have the drive, the grades, and the desire to work with animals, this may be the perfect job for you

Building Traffic Through Search Engines

 

Internet Marketing Is As Easy As 1-2-3

Part 1: Building Traffic Through Search Engines

Internet marketing is easy but it isn't an overnight proposition; 1-2-3 could be weeks, months or years of Internet marketing before your web site becomes viable. Don’t stop reading yet -- I’m living proof that micro businesses can earn 6+ figures annually online, with little or no money invested in the early stages.

This isn’t about selling vitamins to your family and friends, nor is it any kind of network marketing type of company. I own a business that’s traditionally associated with walk-in traffic, not search engine traffic: postcard printing.

Over the 8 years I’ve had a Web site, I’ve accumulated a lot of tips on running an online business, and I’d like to share some of the Internet marketing search engine tactics I’ve learned.

If you like to do-it-yourself, subscribe to some of the good and free newsletters about Internet marketing available:

• Danny Sullivan’s Search Engine Watch. There is both a free and fee-based newsletter.
• Jill Whalen’s High Ranking Advisor.
• Adventive has, at last count, 20 discussion lists, from selling online to getting your site reviewed.
• Dr. Ralph Wilson’s Web Marketing and Ecommerce.
• The LED (previously known as Link Exchange Digest).

Yes, it’s a lot of reading, and yes, I continue to read many of the above publications. If your Web site is new, you’ll want to know how to create good titles, and learn what META TAGS mean. And these days, it’s important to know how to write good copy so your Web site will be found by the search engines.

Search engine submission is another important part of successful Internet marketing. On the next page are some search engine submission tips to help you build search engine traffic

Internet Marketing

 

By Susan Ward (about.com)

Definition:

Internet Marketing is an all-inclusive term for marketing products and/or services online – and like many all-inclusive terms, Internet marketing means different things to different people.

Essentially, though, Internet marketing refers to the strategies that are used to market a product or service online, marketing strategies that include search engine optimization and search engine submission, copywriting that encourages site visitors to take action, web site design strategies, online promotions, reciprocal linking, and email marketing – and that’s just hitting the highlights.

Online marketers are constantly devising new Internet marketing strategies in the hopes of driving more traffic to their Web sites and making more sales; witness the increasing use of blogs as marketing tools for business, for instance. (For more about creating a blog and how to use blogs as an Internet marketing strategy, see my Blog FAQ For Businesses.)

If you’re new to Internet marketing, I recommend focusing on web design and search engine optimization as a starting point; for most sites, the most traffic still comes from search engines and directories.

Also Known As: Web marketing, Web site marketing, online marketing.

Examples:

Once Tim understood the concept of keywords and how they can be seeded through a web page, his Internet marketing efforts became more successful.

Top 10 Internet Marketing Strategies

 

By Laura Lake (about.com)

Internet marketing can attract more people to your website, increase customers for your business, and enhance branding of your company and products. If you are just beginning your online marketing strategy the top 10 list below will get you started on a plan that has worked for many.

1. Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy.
2. Get ranked at the top in major search engines, and practice good Search Optimization Techniques.
3. Learn to use Email Marketing Effectively.
4. Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs.
5. Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or Internet marketing consultant.
6. Build a responsive opt-in email list.
7. Publish articles or get listed in news stories.
8. Write and publish online press releases.
9. Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site.
10. Blog and interact with your visitors.

By following the above tips you'll be on your way to creating a concrete internet marketing strategy that could boost your business substantially.

6 Simple Marketing Strategies to Increase Your Business

 

A Marketing Mix is Best for Business

By Susan Ward (about.com)

Marketing is the most common problem that people running or starting small businesses ask me about. Typically, they say something like, "I've placed some ads but they just don't seem to be doing anything." – in other words, not bringing them the customers, clients or sales they desire.

Marketing is More Than Advertising

But marketing and advertising are not synonymous and 'placing a few ads' is never going to draw the kind of business a small business needs to be successful. Marketing is a process, not an event. It involves planning marketing goals and implementing (often a series of) marketing strategies to achieve them.

Now that doesn't mean marketing has to be a complicated process. But it does mean you have to know what you want to achieve and get out there and work at it. Here are six simple marketing strategies you can use to increase your customers and sales.

6 Simple Marketing Strategies

1) Offer some free classes/workshops related to your products and/or services - in your home, in a rented venue or through a local education institution such as a Community College. Target specific audiences or events, if appropriate. For instance, someone with a beading business might offer special workshops on Beaded Christmas Projects or Beading for Girls. A yoga instructor might offer a class such as Yoga for Men.

2) Join local business organizations and networking groups. Many, such as home-based business groups, are inexpensive to join. And the marketing benefits are huge. Once they get to know you and what you do, the other business people in your group will mention your business to others and may even give you referrals. Local business organizations are also great opportunities to create and participate in some cooperative marketing strategies, such as holding special Market Days or other events.

3) Create or become front and center in a charitable event. You can get huge amounts of press for events like this – which can translate into new customers. One local artist has painted paper grocery bags which he is selling with all proceeds going to a selected charity, for example. But you don’t even have to go to the trouble of creating your own event; many charities have established events that you can become a very visible part of by becoming a sponsor. See 10 Ways to Get Known for more on charity-based marketing strategies.

4) Create your own blog - and use it to build an audience of people who would be interested in your products and/or services. Creating a blog is easier than creating a website - and savvier too. How do I Go About Creating a Business Blog? tells how to get started. Then write regularly about topics related to your business and what your business is doing. You'll start connecting with other bloggers, business people and potential customers.

5) Join and use Twitter. If you have time to get to know and use a variety of social media, do. But if you only have time for one, Twitter is my pick of all the social media out there because it's so quick and easy to use. How to Twitter: a Get Started Guide will have you up and tweeting in no time. As for marketing strategies, be sure you don't use Twitter exclusively to promote your product but to find and converse with like-minded people who may be interested in what you're doing. Read How to Use Twitter to Promote Your Business for details.

6) Ask for referrals - If you operate a service-based business, you know that I have saved the best for last here, because asking for referrals is the easiest and least time-consuming of all the marketing strategies in this article. It really makes me wonder why it's also one of the least used marketing strategies. If you don't regularly ask your satisfied customers for referrals because you don't know how or feel awkward doing it, read my Ask for Referrals article; it provides scripts you can use to make it easier to do.

The Marketing Rope

Don't get me wrong; there's nothing wrong with advertising. It's just that in most cases it won't be not effective marketing unless it's part of a coordinated marketing plan. Think of marketing as a rope and advertising as one strand of the rope. How strong is a one strand rope going to be?

A mix of marketing strategies, such as advertising in conjunction with the marketing strategies above, will get you the marketing results you want. None of these marketing strategies are going to draw hordes of customers overnight but, assuming you have a good product or service, if you do them and work at them consistently, you will see an increase in customers and sales.

6 Sure Ways to Increase Sales

 

Shift Your Sales Focus for Increased Sales

By Susan Ward (about.com)

Want to increase sales dramatically? Then shift your sales focus from attracting new customers to enticing your proven customers to buy again. The best sales prospect is a prospect that's already converted - in other words, one of your current customers.

Think of it this way; if your business is located in a small town with a population of 1000 people and you sell a sprocket to everyone in that town, man, woman, and child, you've sold 1000 sprockets – and saturated your market. Your sprocket selling days are over. Is it time to pack up and move on?

No! If you start focusing your sales efforts on your proven customers, you’ll be able to increase your sprocket sales dramatically. And these sure ways to increase sales will help build customer loyalty, too. Try some or all of these ideas to increase your sales:

1. Set up a sales incentive program.

Give your sales staff a reason to get out there and sell, sell, sell. Why do so many businesses that rely on their sales staff to drive sales have incentive programs in place? Because offering their sales staff the trips and/or TVs for x amount of sales works. See Paul Shearstone’s Creating Sales Incentive Programs That Work for how to make your sales incentive program “sweet and simple and attainable”.

2. Encourage your sales staff to upsell.

Essentially, upselling involves adding related products and/or services to your line and making it convenient and necessary for customer to buy them. Just placing more products near your usual products isn’t going to increase your sales much. To upsell successfully, the customer has to be persuaded of the benefit. For instance, when I last had my carpets cleaned, the cleaner noticed a pet stain. Instead of just cleaning it up, he drew my attention to it, and showed me how easily and effectively the spot cleaning solution removed all trace of the stain. Did I buy the spot cleaning solution? You bet. He persuaded me that buying it was beneficial to me and made it convenient to purchase it. Result: increased sales for the carpet cleaning company.

3. Give your customers the inside scoop.

Recently I was shopping at a retail housewares store. I had picked out an item and was mulling over whether to buy it or not when a salesperson came up to me and said, “I see you’re interested in that blender. We’re having a sale next week and all our blenders will be 20 percent off. You might want to come back then.” Guess what? I did – and bought two other items as well. Lesson: if you have a promotion or sale coming up, tell your customers about it. They’ll come back – and probably bring some friends with them too. (And don't forget - you can give your customers the inside scoop by emailing or calling them, too.)

4. Tier your customers.

There should be a clear and obvious difference between regular customers and other customers – a difference that your regular customers perceive as showing that you value them. How can you expect customer loyalty if all customers are treated as “someone off the street”? There are all kinds of ways that you can show your regular customers that you value them, from small things such as greeting them by name through larger benefits such as giving regulars extended credit or discounts.

5. Set up a customer rewards program.

We're all familiar with the customer rewards programs that so many large businesses have in place. But there’s no reason that a small business can’t have a customer rewards program, too. It can be as simple as a discount on a customer’s birthday or as complex as a points system that earns various rewards such as discounts on merchandise. Done right, rewards programs can really help build customer loyalty and increase sales.

6. Distribute free samples to customers.

Why do so many businesses include free samples of other products when you buy something from them? Because it can increase sales in so many ways. As the customer who bought the original product, I might try and like the sample of the new product and buy some of it, too. Or I might pass on the sample to someone else, who might try the product, like it, and buy that and other products from the company. At the very least, the original customer will be thinking warm thoughts about your company, and hopefully telling other people about your products.

Attracting new customers is a good thing. But attracting new customers is not the only way to increase your sales, and is, in fact, the hard way of going about it. Shifting your sales focus to enticing your current customers can make increasing your sales easier – and best of all, build the customer loyalty that results in repeat sales.

7 Ways to Increase Your Service Business’s Profits

 

Change Your Business Model and Watch Your Profits Soar!

By Susan Ward –(about.com)

One of the big problems of small service businesses based on one person’s talents or expertise is just that – the business depends on the talents and expertise of just one person.

For product-based businesses, growing profits is comparatively easy; such businesses can  expand by exporting and/ or opening more branches, just to give two examples. But what if you have a service-based business?

There are only so many hours per week one person can work. And you can only raise your hourly or project rate so much before you price yourself right out of the market.

Which means your service business has a profit ceiling – a ceiling that may not allow you to make the income you need.

How can you break through and grow your service business’s profits? The answer is so simple that even Homer Simpson could see it. Change your business model so that your service business’s profits (and your income) is no longer dependent on you.

Here are seven ways you can do that and make your “solo” service business’s profits soar.

1) Add products.

There is absolutely no written rule anywhere that says that a small business has to be a product-based business or a service business. And for many small businesses, selling products that relate to the services they provide is a natural.

The carpet cleaners that sell stain remover products. Veterinarians that sell pet food. Look at the businesses around your community and you’ll see examples all over the place. Add the right products and your profits could increase exponentially!

The trick: Be sure to choose products that relate to/complement the services you provide. Selling unrelated products doesn’t work.

2) Hiring and training.

This is another obvious solution that many small service businesses have used successfully. If one person can only make so much money, then x number of people doing the same thing can make significantly more money.

If the service your business provides can be taught to others or is a talent that can be hired, hiring and/or training can work very well for you. For instance, if you are a designer, you could hire other designers, enabling you to expand your client list. Or think about the carpet cleaner again for a moment. It would be easy for him or her to train employees to provide the same service.

Learn more: How to Hire Employees in Canada

The trick: Never hire without training. Even creative types need to be trained in terms of the house rules and your business’s culture and standards.

3) Productize your service.

By taking the service you provide and turning it into a product package, you unchain yourself from charging by the hour and relieve clients of their fear of hourly rates stacking up endlessly as a project drags on. 

An aspiring entrepreneur might want to have a business consultant create a business plan for them, for example,  but be apprehensive about the expense of paying the consultant by the hour. But paying a flat fee for the consultant’s business plan package makes having the consultant create a plan more attractive and affordable – and nets the consultant a sale she otherwise wouldn’t have had.

Read C.S. Hayden’s Turn Your Services Into a Product to learn more about how you can productize your service.

The trick: Be sure to develop products with your target market in mind – and be sure to thoroughly test them before marketing them.

4) Change your market. 

Right now there’s a fuss being made about differential pricing. But differential pricing has existed since the first homo sapiens made a sale; different people have always been willing to pay different prices for the same thing, so there have always been striated markets from low-end to high-end. Walmart and Holt Renfrew both sell clothes but at very different price points.

Take a close look at your market; you might be able to “move up” to a higher price point. And don’t limit yourself to thinking only in terms of a business to consumer business model; consider changing to a business to business or even business to government model. Governments, in particular, are notorious for paying more for products and services than other potential clients.

Learn More: How to Sell to the Government of Canada

How to Sell to the U.S. Government

The trick: Upscale clients often demand upscale surroundings. You may need to redecorate or even relocate your office if you have one.

5) Repackage yourself.

Just as markets have striations that have different price points for services, so do professions. And those striations can mean the difference between being paid as a lowly grunt and being paid as a star. Who would you rather be; the poorly paid public defender or the glamorous defense attorney that people are willing to pay huge sums?

Here’s a secret; there are many professions where you can move from one to another. The barber can become a hairstylist;  the masseuse can become a massage therapist; the writer can become a content developer. Titles matter when it comes to fees.

Repackaging yourself is not just a matter of changing what you call yourself, of course; it may also involve improving your credentials or increasing your celebrity. (See The Top 10 Ways to Get Known for help with this.)

The trick: Repackaging, like rebranding, has to be complete. It may involve sweeping changes such as relocating or rebuilding a client list, so be sure you know what repackaging will involve before you do it.

6) Stop doing one-offs; sell the maintenance as well as the service.

Think how much more income you would have if, instead of paying you to do one thing, your clients or customers just kept paying you. That’s what this business model is all about. For example, if you are a web designer, you could offer a service of maintaining the website with monthly or annual fees, instead of just designing a website for someone.

Or if your business is installing irrigation systems, you could also offer a maintenance service to your customers that would involve turning off the system for the winter and turning it on in the spring – a truly brilliant idea because it would also give you the opportunity to check the system over twice a year and spot any repairs that needed to be made.

The trick: Focus on creating a maintenance program that solves a customer’s current or potential problem; that’s the kind of maintenance program that will be easy to sell.

7) Franchising.

If you are operating a successful business that can be duplicated to allow others the same potential for success, franchising your business can bring in big bucks. But before you start figuring out how much you can charge for each clone of your company, read Is Franchising Your Business for You? to see if franchising is a viable option for your business. Franchising isn’t just a matter of opening up branch locations; what you’re actually selling is not your service business but your business system and not all businesses are suitable candidates.

The trick: Open another branch office of your business before franchising; it will give you the chance to test your business model and work out the kinks in your system.

Your Income Level is Largely Up to You

You don’t have to settle for what you feel is a low income from your business just because you charge by the hour for your services and don’t have time to add any more billable hours to your week.  Service businesses can make just as much money as the most successful product businesses. All you have to do is figure out how you’re going to break through the profit ceiling – and do it.

Top 10 Ways of Growing Your Business

 

Tried and True Ways of Growing Your Business

By Susan Ward (about.com)

Growing your business isn’t just a worthy goal; growing your business is a necessity for your business’s survival and your economic well-being. What can you do to get your business beyond the bare sustenance level? All of these ways of growing your business have been successfully used by other businesses and, with some planning and investment, will work for you.

1. Penetrate your existing market.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of growing your business is getting new customers. But the customers you already have are your best bet for increasing your sales; it’s easier and more cost-effective to get people who are already buying from you to buy more than to find new customers and persuade them to buy from you. See 6 Sure Ways to Increase Sales for more.

2. Ask for referrals.

Getting new customers is another approach to growing your business. One of the easiest way to do this is to ask your current customers for referrals. But notice the verb. Doing a great job and just assuming that your customers are passing the word about your business isn’t going to do much to increase your customer base; you have to actively seek referrals. During or after every job or sale, ask your satisfied customer if he knows anyone else who would be interested in your products or services.

3. Innovate your product or service.

Discovering and promoting new uses for your products or services is a great way to both get existing customers to buy more and attract new customers. Think petroleum jelly and duct tape – and how few of these would actually be sold if they only had one use!

4. Extend your market reach.

There are several ways of growing your business by making your product or service available to a new pool of customers. The most obvious is to open stores in new locations, such as opening a store or kiosk in a new town. New locations can also be virtual, such as a website with an online store. Another approach is to extend your reach through advertising. Once you’ve identified a new market, you might advertise in select media that targets that market.

5. Participate in trade shows.

Trade shows can be a great way of growing your business. Because trade shows draw people who are already interested in the type of product or service you offer, they can powerfully improve your bottom line. The trick is to select the trade shows you participate in carefully, seeking the right match for your product or service. Trade Show Tips will help you get the best return on your investment.

6. Conquer a niche market.

Remember the analogy of the big fish in the small pond? That’s essentially how this strategy for growing your business works. The niche market is the pond; a narrowly defined group of customers. Think of them as a subset whose needs are not being met and concentrate on meeting those unmet needs. A nursery, for instance, might specialize in roses.

7. Contain your costs.

Surprised? Bear in mind that when we’re talking about growing your business, we’re actually talking about growing your business’s bottom line. And the difference between pre-tax and post-tax money can make this a very effective growth strategy. There are two main approaches to cutting costs; liquidating your “loser” products and improving your inventory turnover.

8. Diversify your products or services.

The key to successfully growing your business through diversification is similarity. You want to focus on the related needs of your already established market or on market segments with similar needs and characteristics. An artist might also sell frames and framing services, for instance. Or a mountain bike rental business might switch to renting skidoos in the winter season.

9. Franchising.

The stories of entrepreneurs who have become both well known and well heeled due to franchising their small businesses are legion – and not just stories. If you have a successful business and can develop a system that ensures that others can duplicate your success, franchising may be the fast track for growing your business. See Is Franchising Your Business For You? for details.

10. Exporting.

Expanding into international markets can also be a powerful boost to your business’s bottom line. Like franchising, this is a way of growing your business that requires quite a commitment of time and resources, but can be extremely rewarding. 10 Steps to Successful Exporting outlines the process of getting into exporting if this way of growing your business interests you.

There you have it; ten ways of growing your business. Don’t let this list overwhelm you; pick one or two of these ideas that are suitable to your business and your circumstances and get your plan for growing your business underway. Quick-Start Business Planning will get you started. While you probably won’t experience growth right away, whichever way of expanding your business you choose, you will see progress if you keep at it, and will successfully transform your business into all you want it to be.