Merchant Cash Advance Blog

Graduation season can be a very busy time for caterers.  There are many different steps you can take to maximize your profits during this time.  As a caterer, taking advantage of busy seasons is what drives your bottom line.  With high schools and colleges finishing up their semesters, it’s important that you are prepared to take on the extra business and that you leave a lasting impression on your customers to create repeat business.  Catering is driven largely by word of mouth advertising.  Ensuring that each event you serve is well thought out and goes off without a hitch is critical to the survival of your business.

Memorial Day is a time for remembering those that gave their lives in service to the United States.  The service provided by these great people has given restaurateurs and small business owners the freedom to live the American dream.  Many people go out to celebrate the lives of those who served and currently serve in the military.

Liquor store owners get an earful from oenophiles who dream of stocking shelf after shelf with hard-to-find vintage wine; they listen patiently while craft beer enthusiasts estimate aloud the square footage they would need to refrigerate all the rare ales they would stock. But in a real-life store, even when business is booming, it doesn't look like those customer daydreams. There is payroll to process, a license to renew, and the challenge of stocking what will appeal to loyal specialty liquor enthusiasts as well as the masses. Non-owners imagine this to be the fun part: tasting liquors, choosing mixers, getting first crack at new brands of fine spirits. In reality, smart buying involves complex data and demographic analysis, and calls for store owners to have access to fast funding.  The most successful liquor store owners keep their fingers on the pulse of entertaining and dining trends in their area as well as changes in beverage tastes nationwide. They plan strategically for annual events - big beer orders before football season and liqueurs for the winter holidays all while also being able to move quickly when an unexpected purchase opportunity is presented.

The goal of business is to make a profit. Many small businesses fail at this because they don’t know how to price their products or services, but pricing is the critical element to achieving a profit, a factor that all firms can control. If you’re a startup or are revisiting your pricing strategy, here are some suggestions from industry experts and small business owners to help you get the price right.