For many small businesses hiring a market research firm to get a better understanding of their customers wants and needs may not be financially feasible. As a small business owner you can conduct your own market research that will only cost some of your time. 

Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

• Customer surveys - simple customer surveys are a great way to learn more about your customers and how they view your business. There are several online survey programs, many are free with some limitations, where you can develop brief surveys to share with your customers. In developing the survey, be specific about what you want to learn. For example; how did they learn about your business; do they have suggestions for additional products or services for your business; etc. 
• Ask them! - Another way is to simply ask your customers a few questions as you would in a survey. 
• Web page tools - There are several web page tools, many that are free, that can help you gain a better insight in to who is visiting your web page. These tools, such as Google Webmaster Tools, will help you gather some important information such as; What devices do they commonly use to visit your site, i.e. tablet, smartphone, computer; Which web pages do they visit the most; and where are they located. 
• Demographic data - For store front businesses, understanding the demographics of your area is also helpful. There are several tools available on the Internet that will allow you to generate a basic report that will provide you with the estimated population. average income, and more information that can be important to know. 

All of these ideas can be accomplished with little to no expense. The information you gain from them can be worth a lot of sales. With the information you collect, you can predict and plan for growing your business more effectively. 

Your small business may be doing well, or not so well. Whatever the case may be it is important to re-energize your small business every few months.

Try these ideas to gain new motivation and insight into your business: 

• Determine what is doing well and what is not doing so well - Whether you sell products, or offer various services, spend some time looking at your sales. Identify the products or services that are doing well and not so well, then explore the reasons. Some well performing sales may indicate underpricing or they are just great deals. Explore how to pair them with those that are underperforming to clear inventory or increase value added services. 
• Is it time for a short break? - Over 48% of small business don't take time off even on holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Remember the proverb, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Make time for yourself to put away the cell phone, stop working for 24 hours. You'll find yourself more energized, motivated, and your creative energies will rebound if you take a step back, take a break (a real break) from your work periodically. 
• Look for ways to reduce operating costs - Reducing ops costs increases your profitability. Look for opportunities to outsource or insource specific tasks, reduce supply costs by buying in bulk or when costs are historically lower, and determine which expenditures may not be providing value to your bottom line. One client realized they spent more money promoting a specific product than they would gain if their entire inventory was sold. 
• Streamline/simplify processes - Over a period of time we develop workflows that become cumbersome. At the time there was a good reason for adding an extra step in a process, but that extra step may have become obsolete as you or your employees have become more adept at completing the process. Gaining control over your time allows you to become more profitable. Simplifying processes reduces your time to complete a sale, speeding up delivery. 
• Look to the future - Revisit your strategic plan. Are you on course to meet your goals and objectives? Can you increase them? Or, are some goals & objectives just to aggressive? Looking toward the future allows you to make decisions today that will grow your business.  
• Is it time to expand? - Are there opportunities to add new products/services that compliment existing ones? Are there services you can provide that complete what you do already? An HVAC owner started with a focus on rapid repair response. After building a client base, the next logical step was to provide preventative maintenance services. Sales were up and clients were happy. 

Any or all of these of ideas will help you take a look at your business and find ways to improve, and most importantly, allow you the opportunity to renew and grow your motivation!!!!

For many small business owners, the client/customer meeting is critical to making the sale, negotiating or ensuring expectations for services or products are met. To get the most out of your meetings follow these simple tips: 

1. Create an agenda, or at least a list of topics - Meetings can be short depending on your needs, but make sure that you cover everything you need to by having an agenda. 

2. Schedule a meeting time - The best way to get your client/customer's attention is schedule a conference call or meeting time with a beginning and ending time. This allows them to prepare and focus on your meeting. 

3. Share information in advance of the meeting - When possible, share information in advance of the meeting. This reduces meeting time and allows you to dive right in to the important aspects and outcomes for your meeting. Sharing an agenda where appropriate is also a good idea as it allows you and the customer the opportunity to track the progress of the meeting. 

4. Close the meeting on time - Time is valuable for everyone. Respecting the time of others is critical to earning their respect and trust. If you schedule a ten minute meeting, then stick to ten minutes. If the meeting starts to go over, try saying; "This meeting is lasting longer than we originally predicted. Do you have a few minutes to continue or would you like us to schedule a follow-up meeting?" 

5. Always close with an appreciative note - "I really do appreciate you taking your time to talk with me today about this project. Your insight and guidance is really appreciated." This not only reinforces your goal to assist them, but provides them with an opportunity to understand that their time spent with you is valued. 

In today's world, people often look for the short story. Chances are your client/customers are busy people and they will appreciate you making the most of your time spent together.