by EGBI Tech Team | May 2, 2017 | Success Stories
¿Abrumado por el trabajo administratico de su pequeño negocio?, ¿Necesita ingresar y organizar la información de los clientes, archivar gastos/recibos y subirlos a la nube y que no se pierdan?, ¿Requiere ayuda para enviar facturas a tiempo? ¿Ha decidido que es tiempo de diseñar una página web que se destaque más allá de la competencia? ¿Le gustaría que lo acompañaran en una presentación o reunión de negocios en inglés? Wester proporciona apoyo administrativo a las empresas que necesitan estos servicios. La conveniencia de tener este tipo de colaboración con paquetes asequibles para elegir, es una valiosa fuente que permite a los propietarios de pequeñas empresas la posibilidad de concentrarse en el crecimiento de su negocio.
Verónica Trevisan, dueña de Wester cree que ser empresario es tener la visión de ver una oportunidad de negocio detrás de una buena idea. Ejercitando su perspicacia empresarial, fundó Wester para dar apoyo administrativo a otras pequeñas empresas.
Como cliente graduado de EGBI, Verónica ayuda a la organización cuando se necesita personal adicional en eventos y exposiciones y ha trabajado en proyectos para traducir la currícula y comunicaciones en español. También ha trabajado en otras tareas administrativas de la organización. Verónica ha sido reconocida por esta incubadora de negocios como voluntaria del año en el 2015. Ella también fue una de las 3 finalistas del Premio Capital de Texas bajo la categoría Rising Star de Facebook en 2016; entregado por la Cámara de Comercio Hispana de Austin.
Para mas información, contacta a Veronica en info@westerbiz.com o llámala al 512.576.6637
by EGBI Tech Team | May 2, 2017 | Success Stories
Overwhelmed managing your home office like data entries, organizing information or receipts on cloud data sources, or filing paper work? Can’t seem to get your invoices out on time? Are you needing a web site that will stand out beyond the competition? On a deadline and need to create a PowerPoint in a hurry? Wester provides administrative support to businesses needing these services. The convenience of having extra assistance with affordable service packages to choose from is a valuable to source that enables small business owners the ability to focus on the growth of their business.
Verónica Trevisan believes that being an entrepreneur is to have the vision to see a business opportunity behind a good idea. Exercising her business acumen she founded Wester to give administrative support to other small businesses.
As an Economic Growth Business Incubator (EGBI) graduate client, Verónica assists the organization when additional staffing is needed at events and expos and has worked on projects to translate curriculum and communications into Spanish. She has also worked on other administrative duties for the organization. Verónica has been recognized by the EGBI as 2015 Volunteer of the Year. She was one of the finalists of 2016 Capital of Texas Award under the Facebook Rising Star category; recognition granted by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
by EGBI Tech Team | May 1, 2017 | Business Tips
By Al Lopez, EGBI Executive Director
It’s a common problem faced by many first-time entrepreneurs in Austin. They have a great vision for their company, a great product and perhaps even a great marketing strategy, but they just can’t seem to grow their sales as quickly as they would like. The solution is simple: more effective customer engagement.
The problem is that many first-time entrepreneurs are still not comfortable with the sales process. Either they believe that the product is so good that it will literally sell itself, or they are concerned about pushing too hard and too fast so they never really engage with the customer.
If that sounds like your entrepreneurial experience, then here are some tips for turning your startup into a sales machine.
Tip #1: Focus on the long-term relationship
It’s easy to focus on the short-term sale. After all, it’s those short-term sales that are going to put money in the bank and help your business grow. However, you also have to take a long-term view of customer relationships. And that’s especially true if you are selling relatively expensive or high-end products. You need to develop the relationship first, steadily building credibility with the client over time.
For example, say that you have just launched a small jewelry business. The first time a customer comes into the store, you may not make a big sale. But if you can educate the customer about the types of materials you use in your jewelry, or the types of artisans who are working on these pieces of jewelry, you will be preparing the customer for a much larger purchase later.
Tip #2: Listen to the customer
Most people, when they think about sales, think in terms of a rehearsesd “script” or “messages.” They think that there is some perfect sales script that will convert every time. That’s just not the case. You also need to listen to the customer. What problem are they trying to solve? What are they really looking for?
And this listening process includes more than just the words that customers use. Pay attention to their body language and all the things they are saying with their posture. And if you’re not sure what they really want, ask questions to get clarification. Often, people may tell you they want one thing, but really have something entirely different in mind.
Tip #3: Remember that price is just one factor in the sales decision
by EGBI Tech Team | Apr 29, 2017 | Success Stories
ATX Co-op Taxi splits the difference between traditional taxis and ridesharing. ATX Co-op Taxi ride-hail app is up on the iTunes store: “ATX Taxi”. The app is modeled much like your standard TNC template. Should it ever fail, as happened with Fasten and RideAustin during SXSW, the co-op can fall back on its full-time dispatch system – staffed with call-takers at an office just like any taxi franchise.
We are proud of our clients, ATX Co-op Taxi. Read more in the Austin Chronicle here.
by EGBI Tech Team | Mar 23, 2017 | Business Tips
By Al Lopez, EGBI Executive Director
Start-ups and small growing businesses face a common problem: how to manage cash flow so that all the expenses get paid on time. By managing your expenses carefully, you can improve your opportunity to grow slowly and surely. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
Tip #1: Create a realistic budget
It’s not just enough to come up with a budget – you also have to come up with a realistic budget. And in order to do that, you need to have a good understanding of all aspects of your business. Take sales, for example. If you know when you are booking key sales, and when these customers are going to pay, you are going to have much more visibility into the overall profitability and the when that profitability will come. If you know that you can expect an amount in revenue a month, then you can start thinking in terms of affordable dollars in expenses.
At a minimum, you should have visibility into the sales for your upcoming three months. Preferably, you should be able to project out 12 months in advance. This is particularly important because every business naturally has ups and downs in sales over the year – such as during the holiday selling season – and those ups and downs need to be planned for.
Tip #2: Develop a solid business plan
Once you have a budget in place, you need to make sure you have a business that supports it or change the one you have to match your new budget expectations. Start to think about what percentage of your profits you will need to invest back into the business. Maybe you have to buy new inventory or maybe you need a new piece of equipment. Or maybe you are planning a new marketing approach to promote your product or service.
A business plan helps you to understand how these costs fit into the bigger picture and keep you from spending on things that aren’t part of your plan. Too many businesses live week to week, month-to-month, or quarter-to-quarter, and are never able to put together a solid business plan for moving forward. Expenses tend to grow with nothing to show for it. A business plan helps to keep you focused, and helps you manage your expenses more wisely.
Tip #3: Plan for unexpected expenses
The business world is full of uncertainty, and that’s why most small business consultants advise companies to have enough cash on hand to handle any unexpected emergencies. In the same way as you might create a “rainy day fund” for your family budget, you’d also want to make sure that you have enough cash to cover adverse market changes or unexpected events for your business.
There are various ways to protect against risk, of course, without simply having to save a bunch of cash. You don’t want to tie up too much cash, because you’ll need that for working capital. But you should have business insurance to protect your inventory. Or, if you operate a food truck business, you might think about ways to limit your downside if anything happens to these valuable assets.
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At some point, all of the cost savings, bootstrapping and careful financial management will really pay off. You’ll have extra funds to handle unexpected emergencies, and you’ll also have plenty of funds to re-invest in the success of your growing small business.
