So, picture this, you’ve just started your small business. You have everything set and ready to go. You have your website, your social media, your pricing, and all-in-all, your business plan. Now what’s missing from this picture? Getting your small business out there and your customers, of course.

So after all of this hard work, you’ve now realized that if you open your doors, the customers won’t just flood in. How can you increase your visibility without spending a lot of money? I’ve scoured the globe, or maybe just locally, for the four best things you can do in order to get your small business out there, here they are:

1. Do local speaking engagements. One of the best and scariest things you an do to get your small business out there is to do speaking arrangements. For a lot of people, their biggest fear is public speaking. And to tell you the truth, I’m not eliminated from those numbers. However, speaking engagements can be organized through the local Chamber of Commerce or through individual companies to educate their employees or decision makers. I was a member of a local Chamber of Commerce and each month they had a “Lunch and Learn.” A company who volunteered would come in and teach the group about their trade. A lot of times it was geared towards small business wishing to learn more about social media or how they can convert more customers to buyers.
2. Set up a booth at a local event. In Orlando, there are a lot of opportunities to set up your small business to gain awareness to get your small business out there. We have the Corporate 5K, where vendors set up after to introduce themselves to locals after the run. We also have a Sunday Farmer’s Market where lots of local business  owners come to showcase their products. This is more geared towards food, but who knows, a small business executive could be walking around and notice that you are offering something they’ve been pondering.
3. Become a member of an organization. When I graduated, a friend advised me, “Join two groups, one in your field and one for fun.” This was the best advice anyone could have given me, especially now to get your small business out there. I was newly graduated and didn’t know how to meet new people in the business world. So I took his advice and became a part of the Junior League and a member of the American Marketing Association. A key piece of advice that I’ve learned since joining professional groups and social clubs that has helped me succeed is, you get out of them what you put into them.
4. Volunteer. Volunteering is the perfect way to meet people and to get to know them on a more personal level, and also to talk about how to get your business out there. A lot of times, you’ll realize that someone does what you’re looking for or vice versa. I chose to combine the membership and volunteering into one organization, Junior League. There are multiple volunteer organizations around where you live. Some other examples are, Meals on Wheels, Adopt A Road (this has advertising with it as well), soup kitchens, food banks, and Rotary Clubs.

There are many ways you and your small business can thrive. The above mentioned are just a few that I’ve used to help get your small business out there. If you need help getting your business off the ground, contact us here. If you have any ideas, tweet at us @SouthStreet_Co, we’d love to hear them!

For more information and tips, see our Twitter, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest pages.

Summary

Review Date

2014-08-16

Reviewed Item

The 4 Best (and cheap) Ways To Get Your Small Business Out There

Author Rating

5