The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only. You should always obtain independent business, tax, financial, and legal advice before making any business decision.
To celebrate Small Business Month, we've put together some practical advice to inspire you to rethink the way you do business, both today and in the future!
Broken down into simple, actionable steps, our Small Business Month tips will help you:
You may have heard of Small Business Week, but at PayPal we celebrate Small Business Month. Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, driving culture and innovation at every corner. During Small Business Month, we will highlight the impact our startups, independents, and small business owners are having across the country.
We believe it is important to regularly evaluate your business' performance. Taking the time to rethink and reappraise your business operations approach can help identify what's working well and what needs improvement so you have a great chance of making decisions that will allow your business to thrive.
No matter how your business fared during the previous year, conducting reviews of your progress can help you maintain stability. Whether you enjoyed a lucrative year or struggled to stay afloat, taking stock of your business' performance can help build business resilience for the future.
With last year's numbers to guide you, you can leverage these seven tactics to assess your business wellness and create strategies to thrive:
Tracking the right data can be a game-changer for customer acquisition and optimizing your social media for business. Data can do almost everything from enabling you to analyze sales traffic, forecast expenses and optimize your marketing.
Armed with your performance analytics, you can make informed decisions and take action to improve your processes, all while keeping a close eye on the key metrics that matter most.
Discovering effective ways to connect with potential shoppers online can help set your business up for success and generate sales. By differentiating your brand and leveraging social media in unique ways, you can develop a strong online presence and build a larger, more loyal customer base.
But how can you determine which online channels are right for your business? And what tactics are effective in growing your audience? We answer these questions and more in this Q&A.
Standing out in a crowded marketplace can be difficult. Still, with the right small business month offers and overall marketing strategies, you may capture more attention. Besides competing against direct competitors for customer attention, you're also up against massive brands, informational resources, and media publishers, all vying for precious moments of consumer focus.
With billions of daily searches, optimizing your website and amplifying your social media presence can help give your business a good chance for boosting visibility.
No matter what kind of business you operate, optimizing for search is a must-do. This is especially true when running small business month promotions You can start by leveraging SEO strategies like:
We put together an easy-to-follow technical SEO checklist to help you address high-priority items that can improve your organic search engine rankings. By following this checklist, you can tackle common technical issues and help get your business noticed online.
If you're an online seller, your website and product pages serve as your digital storefront. That’s why high-quality photos and detail-rich product descriptions are critical to success, regardless of whether you're selling on eBay, Etsy, or your own ecommerce site.
The right photography coupled with text descriptions that accurately represent your products, you can build trust with your customers and make a great first impression. Get started with these tips.
Social media is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes to drive brand awareness and keep customers engaged. Having a strong social media presence can help reach a wider audience and connect with buyers in a more personal way.
From driving traffic and engaging with customers to building credibility and loyalty, you can take your business to a new level when you unlock the potential of social media. Not sure where to begin? Review and bookmark this checklist.
In addition, don’t forget to feature small business month events you’re participating in on your social media channels! Social media posts are a great way to drive brand awareness and engage customer during Small Business Month.
For small businesses, overall financial health and cash flow management are crucial areas of focus. By keeping a close eye on your finances, you can set sail toward stability and even growth.
Let's explore some strategies to keep your business on track.
If you're not careful, cash flow problems may quickly sneak up on you – leaving you struggling to pay bills, make payroll or invest in growth opportunities.
By closely monitoring your cash flow, reducing expenses when possible, implementing small business growth strategies, and accessing business financing options like PayPal Working Capital and PayPal Business Loan1, you can help your business be on solid financial footing and ready to weather any storm.
Discover more ways to stay proactive and take steps to prevent a cash flow crunch before it happens.
What if there was a way to offer financing options to your customers without putting your own cash flow at risk? That's where Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) comes in.
By allowing customers to pay just a fraction of the total cost at the time of purchase, you can help increase the likelihood of customers making a purchase. PayPal Pay Later average order values are ~20% higher than standard PayPal average order values for SMBs.2 As more consumers seek out flexible financing options for their purchases, businesses that offer BNPL services may stand to benefit from this growing trend.
If you're looking for a way to generate revenue, while making it easier for customers to buy from you, read about how to offer customer financing.
Whether you’d like to secure working capital or fund future goals, it all comes down to credit. That’s why it's important to understand the steps to build business credit. These include:
Today, merchants can get their business up and running quickly by using one of the many eCommerce or marketplaces. PayPal is already integrated into most major associate solutions—so getting started receiving payments is easy.
Celebrating Small Business Month is just the beginning. PayPal is here to help support you during Small Business Month and beyond!
Discover payment tools that can power your business growth, all in one platform.