What is Your Value Proposition?
Hello All,
I was talking to a young business owner in the field of digital marketing recently where we shared information about our respective businesses. As I was trying to communicate to him what I did, I could see his eyes glaze over until I said that it was crucial that every business owner, whether or not they have an accountant, to understand their numbers. Amid the the barrage of information I had given him , it was this simple statement that resonated. For me, it was a revelation as I realized that I had work to do on both understanding and communicating my own value proposition.
A value proposition (VP) is a way of communicating the benefits that your business provides or the challenges that it solves, as succinctly and clearly as possible. Ideally, it should be no more than two or three sentences.
A great place to start is by using the simple formula, postulated by a startup guru Steve Blank, which is “We help (X) do (Y) by doing (Z)”. In my case I help small business owners (X) better understand their finances (Y) by providing a variety of educational resources. This clearly needs work, but it is a good place to start.
The primary benefit of doing this exercise is that it forces you to think beyond the features of the product or services that you are providing and shift focus to the value that it brings to your customers and why they would choose to buy from you. Another way of formulating your VP, according to this article from Harvard Business Review is to ask the following questions:
What is my brand offering?
What job does the customer hire my brand to do?
What companies and products compete with my brand to do this job for the customer?
What sets my brand apart from those competitors?
You would then summarize the answers to these questions into an elevator pitch of sorts that is clear and resonates with your target audience. Once crafted, it can be incorporated into your brand messaging (making copywriting a lot easier), used at networking events, on your website and social media etc. And once you become clearer on your own value proposition, it helps you to focus and direct your business activities so that they align with your vision.
Blog Post
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Small Business Articles
Value Proposition Examples: Some inspiration for those of you interested in the exercise of crafting your value proposition. There are also numerous other articles to help you get started.
12 Productivity Apps for Small Business: Some interesting apps notably Calendly (which I use and love) and Airtable which helps to simplify spreadsheets and make them much more flexible.
Tax Stuff:
Tax Planning Strategy for Corporations: This article looks into the benefits of salary vs dividends vs leaving money in the corporation.
CRA Tax Newsletter: Information on CEBA repayment deadline, UHT, and T4 slip changes. Additionally, you can get a donation receipt by donating your devices and old laptops to Computers for Schools Plus
QuickBooks Tip: Invoice Reminders
Unfortunately, not all customers pay in a timely fashion. A tool that you can you use to help collect from delinquent payers is a reminder email. This can be sent directly from the QBO interface by going to the invoices section and selecting “send reminder” from the dropdown next to the invoice under the actions tab.
Books and Resources:
Coming Soon! Small Business and Your Payroll: I apologize for the delay on this. I have been working on other projects. I do intend to get this done by the end of the year (in time for tax season) along with some other resources that might be useful.
If there are any questions that you have about payroll that you want included in the book, please send me an email at ronika@montrealfinancial.ca.
Small Business Tax Facts(Sole Proprietorships/Registered Businesses/Self Employed Workers)
This book helps you take control of your finances by giving you a better understanding of tax (brackets, tax rates, deductions etc), how it applies to your unincorporated small businesses and how to do your own tax return (or at least understand what your accountant does). It also includes a comprehensive breakdown of deductible expenses, by category with special sections on more complex deductions such as home office, vehicle and capital cost allowance.
FastStart Your Corporation(Corporations)
A step by step guide to starting your small business corporation, including what you need to know about incorporation, setting up your accounting and tax considerations.
QuickStart your QuickBooks(Sole Proprietorships and Corporations)
A comprehensive guide that takes you through the many features of QBO and gives you step by step instructions on how to setup and work with QBO day to day. It is ideal for beginners who have never used QBO before and also for those who are currently using it, but have questions or need guidance.
FastStart Your Business (Sole Proprietorships)
A step by step guide for anyone who is planning to start a Canadian business or become self employed (and does not want to incorporate) and wants to know what they need to do or simply has questions.
Small Business and Your Dividends (Corporations)
For incorporated small business owners who want to know more about small business dividends, the differences between salary vs dividends and which is better and step by step instructions on how to file your own dividend declarations (T5s).
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Free Resources
Business 2023 Tax Deadline Calendar
Starting A Corporation Checklist
Start Your Business Checklist
Dividend Declarations Checklist
Small Business Tax Return Checklist
QBO Set Up Checklist.
Small Business Calculators
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Consultations
I also provide consultation services where I can answer your specific questions relating to your small business and/or finances, provide clarity and give you guidance. Additional details can be found here and here. Note that I no longer provide ongoing accounting or tax preparation services.
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Wishing everyone a lovely, extended (every hour counts!) weekend!
Ronika