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Try This Trick of Mine to Find a New Business Idea

March 24, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

how to find a new business idea Want to start a local business but stuck for an idea? Try this trick of mine using Google Trends.

Type in the words “near me”, which is one of the most popular searches on Google.
Change the location to your city by first selecting your country, then state, then city, etc. using the arrow to the right.
Select the time period as “last 12 months”.

For example, I typed in “near me” for Phoenix, Arizona and the following “rising” searches resulted:

Siding replacement near me
Paper shredding near me
Indian grocery store near me
Salads to go near me
Wine bar near me
Cheap storage near me

Therefore, any of these could pose a potential business opportunity because the demand is there. Try this for both “All Categories” and “Business and Industrial” searches.

Want to know one of the most popular searches nationally? It was “Crystal shops near me”. This search has increased 900% in the last 5 years, and 200% in the last 18 months.

Be sure to download my Best-Selling How to Start a New Business Planner.

How to Find the Best Summer Selling Opportunities

March 23, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

How to Find the Best Summer Selling Opportunities Now that COVID restrictions have been lifted, there are numerous opportunities for you to sell in person this summer and into the fall.

To find local selling events, use Eventbrite. Type in keywords such as, “popup shop”, “festival”, “flea market”, “farmers market”, “trade show“. They do tend to book months in advance so get going!

If you can’t afford a booth or stand on your own, go in with another local but non-competitive business.

If you wish to travel, there are large national festivals you can sell at, but it would be the most beneficial if your target market is the main audience.

For example, Bonnaroo is a large music festival held every June in Tennessee, ideal for people selling bohemian inspired fashion and decor. They offer various onsite selling opportunities, such as a 10 x10 artist/crafter space in the main venue for four days for US$1,500, and they expect 80,000+ people to attend.

The Telluride Yoga Festival in June in Colorado is ideal for anyone selling yoga or wellness products, but they like artisans as well. The cost is $450 for a shared space of two vendors. It’s also a great way to write-off a summer vacation 🙂

My Awesome Idea for Your Next Local Sales Event

March 22, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

No matter what you sell, everyone wants a deal or a bargain. Therefore, at your next local selling event – whether it is at a farmer’s market, craft fair, popup store or trade show – have a “Discount” table or bin as part of your display.

This is where you can put products that are out of season, that you don’t want to make anymore or just didn’t sell. There are various names you can call it: Marked Down, Clearance, Bargain, 70% off, Under $20, Final Sale, Last Chance, Today’s Specials, but I guarantee that it will be your most popular attraction.

Alternatively, you could mark up your prices a little higher, with the intention that you are willing to barter. People love feeling like they got the price down.

This is also a great opportunity to test out various pricing strategies, and see which ones customers respond to the best.

My Simple Tip for More Cost-Effective Ads

March 21, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

My Simple Tip for More Cost-Effective Ads If you’re advertising an individual product or service, you only want to advertise listings that have the highest sales conversion rate.

For example, I have a lot of clients who just blatantly advertise every listing in their Amazon or Etsy store, which is not a smart advertising strategy. What you want to do is go through your individual ad stats and only continue running ads on listings that have the highest sales conversion rate (orders/visits), and/or a conversion rate of at least 2%.

Why pay for ads on listings that are not resulting as highly in sales, when you could instead direct traffic to listings that are giving better results? You pay for each click, so make sure it has the greatest chance of turning into a sale.

Follow my blog so you don’t miss more upcoming ad tips, or set up a call to get more personalized advice.

simple ad tips

Have You Tried a Product Mashup?

March 19, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Have You Tried a Product Mashup? One recommendation I always make to my Etsy and Amazon customers, is to see if you can take advantage of top selling products on the marketplace by doing a product “mashup”.

For example, ornaments sell huge on Etsy every October through December. Therefore, if you sell candles, do a product mashup and create a candle ornament.

Not sure what I mean, take a look at this candle ornament from H&M. You also now get to take advantage of twice the keywords.

Find a product or service that is in high demand, and see how you can merge with a product or service you are currently offering.

You can also book a phone consultation and we can come up with an idea together!

How Your Business Could Benefit From “Group” Orders

March 17, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Every time a neighbor wants to get something done to their house, like septic cleaning or window washing, they ask if we need it done in hopes that together, we will get a better offer from the company because they will get two sales instead of one.

Therefore, if your business offers local products or services, try encouraging neighbors to do group ordering so you get more business at one time.

For example, if you’re a neighborhood restaurant, make the offer: “Get four of your neighbors to also order from us tonight and you all get free delivery” (this is from my 12-Month Marketing Plan for Restaurants).

Try it with your business and see what happens.

Check this out: Love this inspirational carousel post from Canva today.

©2022 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Small Office Home Office Ideas

March 13, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Are you looking for some small office home office decorating ideas?

Most home offices can be a very small space, maybe no bigger than 8×8. So you need to maximize your desk space and organization to make the most of it. Here are some great small office home office decor inspiration I found.

Bookcase Your Home Office Walls

small office home office ideas

A great way to save space in a small home office is to take the wall and turn them into floor to ceiling bookcases, ideal for all types of office storage, not just books.

Put the Desk in the Corner

home office ideas with desk in corner

Putting the desk in the corner of a small home office just narrows the back side of the desk, which you do not really use anyway. This idea also really maximizes the space under the desk.

Filing Cabinet and Desk All in One

ideas for small home office

Using your filing cabinets or bookcases as a means of holding up your desk top frees up space in a small home office.

Turn Shed Into Small Home Office

small office home office

The ultimate small office home office if you live in the right climate is to simply convert an outdoor shed.

Try a Closet Office

small office home office

If your home office space is limited, a closet can always turn into a quick small office home office.

Tuck Away Your Home Office Into the Wall

wall desk small home office idea

Just like a Murphy Bed, this small home office idea features a desk that folds out of the wall, exposing needed storage as well. Great for an apartment dweller.

Attic Home Office

attic small office home office

Unused attic space is a great place to put a small home office.

Hallway Small Office Home Office

small office home office

Why not turn a long hallway into a home office?

Office in a Niche

small office in house niche

Much like the closet idea, a niche in the wall is a great place to place a small home office.

Office Under the Stairs

tiny home office under stars

Make use of that space under the stairs but putting your home office there.

Nursery Office Combo

nursery home office

When space is limited in your house, sometimes you have to take space from another room, and the nursery or playroom is a good option.

Start Your Home Business!

Are you ready to start your own business or company? Be sure to check out my Starting a New Business Planner and get tons of free business advice on my blog.

My Quick & Super Easy Marketing Idea You Must Do!

March 9, 2022 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Need a quick easy marketing tip?

One of the top searches this weekend will be “Daylight Savings Time Change”. You can use this as an opportunity to email your customers. For example:

Friendly Reminder: ⏰ Clocks “spring” forward Sunday at 2 am.