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Women Business Owners – Now Is the Time to Lower Your Prices
By admin | August 29, 2009
What could she possible mean?
Is she nuts?
For those of you who have been reading the articles I’ve written during our current economic recession, you indeed may be wondering if I’ve lost my marbles. After all, throughout the recession, I’ve been telling you not to lower your prices on products and services.
Why the change in tune?
Because, during a recession, it’s better to keep your prices consistent rather than lower them and appear as if you are chasing the buck. However, during a recovery (which we are now in), you do want to be on the forefront of lowering your prices as money starts flowing and people ease into spending again. As consumer confidence grows, so should your business. And what better way to attract new customers than by offering them a smoking economic recovery deal by lowering your prices temporarily?
Standing on the Cusp of Recovery
Today, we stand on the threshold of economic recovery. According to the September 16th issue of The Wall Street Journal, “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession was ‘very likely over,’ as consumers showed some of the first tangible signs of spending again.” As small business owners, it’s now time to move out from under the cloud of fear and stand beside the banner of recovery.
Do you remember the 1983 film Mr. Mom, starring Teri Garr and Michael Keaton? In the film, Jack (Keaton) and Caroline (Garr) are married with three kids and living in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, during the 1980s recession. As the movie opens, Jack has just lost his job in the auto industry and Caroline has been hired by an ad agency, forcing Jack to trade roles and become a stay-at-home Mr. Mom.
In the movie, Schooner Tuna has hired the ad agency Caroline works for to help them with their poor image and declining sales slump. To do so, Caroline comes up with the fabulous idea of temporarily lowering the price of Schooner Tuna until after the economic crisis is over. In the movie, you see Howard Humphrey, President of Schooner Tuna, telling the American public:
“All of us here at Schooner Tuna sympathize with all of you hit so hard by these trying economic times. In order to help you, we are reducing the price of Schooner Tuna by 50 cents a can. When this crisis is over, we will go back to our regular prices. Until then, remember, we’re all in this together. Schooner Tuna. The tuna with a heart.”
How to Lower Your Prices with Dignity and Strength
1. Create an esprit de corps.
Don’t set yourself apart from your target market. Find a way to connect with them emotionally and show them you are in the same boat with them.
Example: We’ve all been through a lot during this recession and have gone through some tough times.
2. Make sure you use strong wording when lowering your prices.
Don’t be namby-pamby. Let folks know exactly what you are doing in bold, strong language.
Example: We’re slashing the price of our services in half!
3. Be entirely transparent and upfront and tell folks why you are lowing your prices.
Don’t let there be a whiff of anything slightly off about your offer. Let folks know exactly why you are lowering prices.
Example: We know that many of you have wanted to use our services but found our prices were out of your budget.
4. Be crystal clear in your call to action.
Don’t apologize for asking them to take action. Tell them exactly what you want them to do and why you want them to do it.
Example: Check us out again! We’ve dramatically lowered the price on most of our products.
5. Tell folks when you will be going back to your regular prices.
Don’t waffle around about when you will return to regular pricing. Tell them what you’ll be doing and when.
Example: In six months, when the economic crisis is over, we’ll go back to our regular prices.
Today, you are standing on the launch pad of success. The recession is over. The pendulum has just started its swing toward economic recovery. That means that things are about to take off for you as a small business owner and for the world. Now is the time to lower your prices—not six months from now. The moves you make while on the cusp of recovery will determine where you’ll be standing one year from today when our economy is stronger and job security higher.
Watch the video related to women business owners
Kim discusses an article from the National Association of Woman Business Owners. This article talks about women business owners in the market and how the current economy has affected them and their businesses.
Help answer the question about women business owners
About Author
Dr. Susan L. Reid is a small business expert and business catalyst for entrepreneurial women starting up businesses. She is the author of “Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman’s Journey to Business Success.” Download now a free copy of “Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Toolkit,” which includes a PDF chapter of her book.
Topics: Networking | 9 Comments »
August 29th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Try a local chapter of NAWBO, my mom's a member and they are awesome people. It is a truly wonderful networking community where women biz owners support each other.
Try this: http://www.nawbo.org/
August 29th, 2009 at 10:06 am
It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html...
"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."
Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show
Below is a list of grants available to WOMEN – none of them are for starting a business
10.443 USDA Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
10.550 USDA Food Donation
10.557 USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
10.565 USDA Commodity Supplemental Food Program
10.572 USDA WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)
16.736 DOJ Transitional Housing Assistance for Victims of Domestic Violence, Stalking, or Sexual Assault
17.301 DOL Non-Discrimination and Affirmative Action by Federal Contractors and Federally Assisted Construction Contractors
17.700 DOL Women's Bureau
20.905 DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprises_Short Term Lending Program
30.001 EEOC Employment Discrimination_Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
30.002 EEOC Employment Discrimination_State and Local Fair Employment Practices Agency Contracts
59.043 SBA Women's Business Ownership Assistance
59.046 SBA Microloan Program
64.011 VA Veterans Dental Care
84.334 ED Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs
93.110 HHS Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs
93.235 HHS Abstinence Education Program
93.290 HHS National Community Centers of Excellence in Women's Health
93.591 HHS Family Violence Prevention and Services/Grants For Battered Women's Shelters_Grants to State Domestic Violence Coalitions
93.919 HHS Cooperative Agreements for State-Based Comprehensive Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Programs
93.926 HHS Healthy Start Initiative
93.994 HHS Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the States
93.995 HHS Adolescent Family Life_Demonstration Projects
96.001 SSA Social Security_Disability Insurance
96.002 SSA Social Security_Retirement Insurance
96.004 SSA Social Security_Survivors Insurance
Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program
Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.
http://www.cfda.gov
http://www.grants.gov
http://gtionline.fdncenter.org
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/grants.htm
http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html
August 30th, 2009 at 9:06 am
It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html...
"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."
Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show
Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program
Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.
August 30th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
None different than men. It's a business entity and doesn't know gender. Women owners may handle certain aspects slightly differently but the overall business concerns and goals remain the same: Maximize profit and margins, minimize expenses.
August 30th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Check out the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO) which deals with women business owners http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/onlinewbc/index.html
There are special loan packages for women owned businesses, free training, certification programs that would allow you to compete better in government procurement process
Contact the SBA's women representatives in your state
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_program_office/wbc_women's_bus_reps.pdf
August 31st, 2009 at 5:21 pm
take your business plan to the small business administration!!!
August 31st, 2009 at 10:39 pm
You need to speak with the local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). If you can't find them, contact the Small Business Development Center, and they can tell you how. PTAC helps small companies find government contracts.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:09 am
The federal government (through the SBA) has specialty loan programs that aim to help women open or grow businesses. But the best options for you are probably at the state level, where loans of as much as $50,000 are often available to female-owned companies. (Be careful with the word "grant," by the way, because this money rarely comes without a requirement for collateral or a need to pay it back. So it's a loan, not a gift.) There's a pretty good list of programs at http://www.business.gov/start/woman-owned/ that could provide a place to start.
Beyond that, I'm a big fan of the National Association of Women's Business Owners, which has a ton of information on its site: http://nawbo.org/. I'd also recommend finding the NAWBO chapter near you so that you can begin the networking process that many entrepreneurs find so helpful.
Lastly, regardless of gender, Inc. Magazine has compiled a good resource for general capital-raising ideas here: http://www.inc.com/guides/finance/20797.html
Good luck with your start-up.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:44 pm
You can look into Women and Minority in Business grant. they usually give business loans to women and minorities who are starting a business