Author: Arabian Media staff

If you own a small business, you’ll probably relate to Tracy Klopfenstein.”The first two years were the worst,” says Klopfenstein, who bought a homemade ice cream shop in Goshen, Indiana, called The Chief with her husband, Chad. “We worked all the time, and I suffered burnout. My mind would spiral at night, and I’d worry about everything. I had what I would call an absence of hope.”Without a large staff to absorb the bumps in the road, mom-and-pop owners often feel like they’re riding on the rims. This past June, the WSJ/Vistage Small Business Index showed that nearly 1 in…

We think deep, but we often talk shallow.If you’ve ever argued with a partner, you understand this. You might fight about who should clean the sink, but it’s not really about the sink — it’s about something deeper, like feeling unappreciated. But because big things are hard to talk about, we often express ourselves through little things.The same thing happens at work. A coworker might snap at you. A client might complain about something small and meaningless. Your job is to figure out what they’re really saying — because that’s the only way to really solve the issue. Recently, I…

Want to buy a local business? Watch out — it might lead you to buying even more small businesses.”I call these ‘gateway-drug businesses,'” says Codie Sanchez. That’s because local businesses are often relatively straightforward to buy and come with existing customers and cash flow. Their owners may be retiring and don’t want a long negotiation. So once you do it the first time, you might see the opportunity to do it again. “You’ll realize that process of buying that laundromat is so damn close to buying an accounting firm, a law firm, a property management firm,” she says — hence…

We’ve all heard of happy hours and “buy-one-get-one-free” sales. But if you’re looking to run a promotion that truly gets customers excited, it needs to be memorable. Maybe it’s memorable because the story you share is so personal, or the goods are displayed in a fun way, or the event gets customers involved (because, say, their kids are performing in it). As these mom & pops have learned, there are all kinds of surprising ways to make customers more inclined to spend their hard-earned cash at your business. 1. The “dollar bin” for candy”We sell candy and nuts, and started…

In the past, customer service looked like this: If you were a big company, you could afford enterprise-grade technologies. And if you were a mom-and-pop shop, you were left to chitchat at the register.Now, things are different. Customer personalization tools are widespread and affordable. A bakery on the south side of Pittsburgh, for example, used one to send shoppers messages like: “Hey Jim, It’s your birthday! Come have a pastry on us.” A beauty salon automatically emailed a product offer based on the service a client just had. A fitness studio lured back members with motivational quotes and customized reengagement…

After I graduated from college, I ran a bookstore on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and that is where I learned to love community-based retail.Running a local shop is special. It has heart. It is a place of continuity and communion. People know you, and you are not just a random person behind the cash register. The shop is you. You are always around, and you are as focused on building relationships in the community as you are on selling products. I loved it.After running the bookstore for three years, I decided I wanted to get out of the book…

You don’t have to be an influencer to get attention on social media, and your posts don’t need to rack up a million views in order to make a difference to your bottom line. For small businesses, what counts as “viral” is all relative. The key is engagement, or getting your customers sharing, liking and thinking about your business. So how do you make that happen? Here, six mom-and-pops share their social media success stories. 1. Authentic lo-fi vibesPosted by Excused Absence Comedy (Austin, TX) “My company teaches improv and sketch classes, runs camps, and does live comedy shows. Once,…

If you think the franchise industry consists only of franchisors and franchisees, you’re missing an important third group of contributors — the suppliers. Also known as vendors or service providers, whatever you call them, these companies are just as vital to the industry’s success. They help franchisors and franchisees with everything from the legal services, financing, and real estate services they need to get started to the technology, marketing, and consulting services they need to operate day to day and keep growing into the future.To help franchisors and franchisees discover some of the best companies to work with, we’ve put…

Want to buy a franchise outside the United States? You’re in luck, because franchising is increasingly a global affair. Consider this statistic: Every year, we rank the top 500 franchises in our Franchise 500 list — and this year, nearly 45% of those brands’ locations were outside the U.S.!That’s not to say global expansion is easy. It comes with plenty of challenges — from adapting products, services, and marketing to various locales and cultures, to dealing with different laws and regulations, to overcoming language barriers. But more and more franchisors see value in it, which is why we recognize the…

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. David Meltzer knows what it feels like to lose everything — and come back from the edge.”How much money did you lose?” Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef asked on stage at the National Restaurant Association Show.”Over $100 million,” Meltzer replied without hesitation.”$100 million,” Walchef repeated. “And you’re still here. Better than ever.”For most people, that number would be the end of their business story. Meltzer turned it into a platform.Related: He Turned Failure Into a Massive Food Truck and Restaurant Operation. Here’s How.A bestselling author and keynote speaker, he now teaches entrepreneurs…