The ideal customers for an ice cream store

Summary: Even something as popular as an ice cream store should target specific markets. In this article, we look at the ice cream eating habits of families with children and adults.

The first step when starting a new business, or even marketing an existing business is to identify the target market. Ice cream shop owners assume that everyone is their target market, when in fact, with a little bit of targeting, they will save both time and money when marketing the store. Even niche stores that sell healthier options can cater to several subsets of the same market. This is why it is important to know who your target is and how to entice them. Here are the main target markets for an ice cream store:

Families with children

You can target your advertising by both age and gender. At least 34% of households with children consume at least four quarts of ice cream every month. Similarly, African American households prefer a larger range of flavors and eat more of the dessert than the typical household. Households without children consume about 20% less than those that do. Families that travel with children almost always stop for an ice cream on the way.

Teenagers

When it comes to teenagers, the statistics are slightly different. Teenage boys will always order premium ice creams when available. Teenage girls on the other hand only opt for the premium flavors after a breakup or during stressful times. The standard fare for teenage girls are healthier options like froyo or low-calorie low-sugar flavors.

Use data like this to position your store for the right demographic and make the most of your advertising dollars.

Written by Gelato Products. In the market for frozen yogurt supplies wholesale? Gelato Products will have everything you need for your store.

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4 Money management tips for small businesses

The key to maintaining and managing a successful business has a lot to do with money management. Here are some tips that will assist small businesses to manage their money.

Start budgeting – Budgeting is a way to fix problems that may arise from cash management. Start by tracking your expenditures, revenues, and your savings. Budgeting will also give you a clear picture of the future and how you can invest in other areas of your business.

Save – Saving money for your business’s emergency fund is a great way to keep your business afloat when you have unexpected expenses, or your sales are low. Another good way to save more is to buy second-hand items, for example, consider buying second-hand furniture, equipment, and vehicles.

Hire a CFO – A CFO will be able to manage your money and have the professional experience to help manage your finances. Avoid the fancy title and hire a good accountant that has some experience in business operations which are similar to your own.

Create strategies to increase your cash flow–To increase your cash flow, you can give your customers discounts and points for paying early. Another way to increase your cash flow is to add more services to your product listing, which will broaden your appeal to customers within your industry. When business is slow, provide a credit line, so that more customers will choose you over your competitors.

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Things you should know before opening a frozen yogurt store

Written by Gelato Products

The frozen yogurt industry has grown in the US, and currently, there is a long list of frozen yogurt products and stand-alone stores in the market. However, the industry is still growing and if you are considering entering the market, here are a few key areas that require further analysis.

Know your customers – Look for a location that you see a demand for a frozen yogurt store. Start by conducting a survey and look at speaking to a range of people from your target market. It is important also to gather information on employment, income and how people spend their money.

Know your competitors – Your immediate competitors will be other frozen yogurt and ice cream stores in and around the location you choose. You can have a quick look at the nearby stores by scanning the area or by performing a web search. Visiting your competitors is a good way to understand what you are competing with and the standards you have to maintain.

Know the rules – You will have to pay tax for your business and these rules will vary from state to state. To start your business, you will also require special licenses and permits to serve food safely. If you intend on hiring staff, you will have to register your business for an Employer Identification Number and complete I-9 forms for all new hires.

Know the costs – Usually starting a yogurt store will cost between $10,000 -$50,000 up front. Look into renting costs, hiring staff, inventory and supplies. You will also need serving equipment like dispensers, bowls, spoons and tasting spoons.

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Gelato Products has everything you need for your ice cream parlor, including frozen yogurt paper cups and other Los Angeles gelato supplies.

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Set up an e-commerce shopping cart

Written by Secure Net Shop

Sales on e-commerce sites are growing at a rapid pace. Shoppers are increasingly turning to websites rather than going out. The change of shopping habit is partially for convenience and partially because it is easier to check multiple websites for what you want rather than running around from shop to shop. Regardless, if you haven’t already, it is time to get your e-commerce shopping cart up and running. Here is a basic rundown of the steps:

Information – First get all the information you need in one place. For example, The product pages of the website will require images, descriptions, and categories. Lots of companies do not have most of this information available, so it saves a lot of time to get this together first. Talk to your cart provider and get a list of everything they will need.

Payments – Any shopping cart e-commerce operation needs to accept payment from credit cards. Talk to your bank or choose one of the many online payment gateway providers. Keep an eye out for long payment periods or higher per-transaction rates. If you cannot afford the hit on your margin, consider other providers.

Implementation – The next step is to add all the products and categories. Adding everything in your inventory can take some time and requires maintenance. Whenever you discontinue a product, remove it from the side to avoid confusion. This step includes changing the design of the cart to match the look and feel of your website. Shoppers will go from one to the other and should not notice a difference.

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Add the ability to sell goods or services from your website with e-commerce shopping cart software from Secure Net Shop.

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Staff requirements for colocation

Summary: More and more IT departments are moving server workloads to data centers or the cloud. This migration of hardware means organizations can survive with smaller teams.

The bigger the organizing, the bigger the IT department. However, with a lot of in-house server rooms moving to third-party data centers, the headcounts get smaller. Here are the basic staff requirements once you move your equipment to a Los Angeles data center:

IT Manager/Head of IT

The head of the department will remain. Rather than focus on running a data center, more time and attention can go towards aligning the goals of IT with the organization. Also, the IT manager can take on a more business focus.

Network/Systems Engineer

The majority of the workload will fall to the network and systems engineer. Since equipment maintenance in no longer an issue, the work will mostly revolve around the technical aspects of running the systems and the systems themselves. In short, the sole engineer with managing the remaining infrastructure.

Technician

The organization will need a single technician. This technician will deal mostly with issues at the premises and sometimes at the data center. Some of the issues left to deal with will involve wiring and network issues, printer problems, etc.

Helpdesk

The helpdesk role will probably be the only one that remains unchanged. The number of desktop support staff depends on the total headcount of the organization, and that is unlikely to change much. The only possible change is an increased role in application support such as Los Angeles web hosting as the primary network engineer will focus on managing the infrastructure.

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Bio: Written by Rack Alley. Providers of  premium LA colocation services perfect for small and enterprise customers at their data center.

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3 Small businesses you can jumpstart right now

Article written by  : Adworks 24 – Advertising & Marketing News

More people are looking at financial freedom and work-life balance and therefore looking at different avenues to make money. Here are three small business ideas that will you can start right now.

In-home tutoring business – If you are passionate about a subject and love being around and teaching kids, in home tutoring is a business that will tick all these boxes. You could teach younger kids or older college students depending on the level of your study. To gain students, you can create flyers and hand them out at nearby schools or a library.

E-commerce retail store – E-commerce retail is a growing business and is now becoming very popular as more and more consumers buy online. Look at an area of retail you want to venture into or one that you feel has a niche. You can then order your goods from China and have it shipped to you. You then will have to price it and photograph it, before you place it on your site or other social media platforms.

Maid cleaning service – There is a big market for cleaning services, and therefore the work is relatively consistent. You will need to have at least two other people working for you, depending on the size of the projects you receive. Most businesses and homes have their cleaning equipment and will only need the manpower to complete the job.

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7 Different ways to serve Ice Cream

Written by Gelato Products

Ice cream is a dessert that is loved all-year-around. But with so many stores selling ice cream products, it is important to ensure your products stand out from the competition.Stores try to make their creations stand out by serving their ice cream with fancy toppings in custom yogurt cups, but this is now very mainstream and has little to no impact.. Here some innovative ways to serve your ice cream.

On a cone – Think of moving away from the usual waffle cone and adding a cake cone in a variety of flavors.

On a stick – Ice cream on a stick is a known classic favorite. Differentiate your product by providing different colorful

In a Sandwich – Sandwich your ice cream in between cookies, cake or sugar bread.

In a taco – An ice cream taco is a mix between a cone and a sandwich. It is a fun way to impress your customers and increase your sales.

Rolled – Rolling ice cream involves flattening it and then adding layers of fruit, chocolate, and cream between the layers.

In a milkshake – Milkshakes have been around for a long time, but the over the top creations are a fun way to get your desserts on social media and increase sales.

In a cake – You can make your cake with pie pastry, actual cake or even with pancakes and then you simply have to add ice cream between the layers.

To ensure that regular more traditional customers have options, invest in a few ice cream cups wholesale.

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Gelato Products has everything you need for your ice cream parlor, including frozen yogurt paper cups and other Los Angeles gelato supplies

 

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The Virtual Replacement to the Wallet

Imagine how freeing it would be to walk around without your wallet, without the fear of misplacing it or having it stolen. That’s the future with digital wallets on the horizon. Your phone will act as a device that stores your personal information, updates you on sales and discounts, and provides you safe access to your money. Learn more about this revolution when you read on.

Personal Data

Digital wallets use multiple layers of encryption to hide sensitive data about the consumer, and the business. Each transaction is anonymous, and everything takes place in something of a digital vacuum. As a result, personal data is rarely put at risk. In fact, most of this data is anonymous and disappears the moment the transaction is completed.

Ease of Use

Already, digital wallets provide an important means to move money around online. They are useful to freelancers around the world as a means of converting currency for the work they do, and can pay for goods and services. All of this can be done from your phone in just a few taps. Forget your phone, or run out of batteries? Not to worry, you’ll be able to log in and pay wherever there is an Internet connection available.

Loyalty

When you shop at a certain store, they’ll not only learn your buying habits they will present coupons and special offers tailored to you. No more remembering coupons, everything will be saved to your device. Shopping will be easier, more affordable and secure with digital wallets.

Charge.com provides mobile credit card processing for small and mid-sized businesses.

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4 Ways to compete using retail customer experience

Article Written by : Visible Theory

Standing out in a competitive market in areas like price can be a battle that can never be won. However, providing your customers with a retail experience that will keep customers coming back for more is a sensible way to retain your market share. Here are a few ways in which you can increase your customer’s in-store experience.

Incorporate social media into your in-store experience – Since social media is an important aspect of most people’s lives, including social media access within your store, is a smart idea. For example, you could include a selfie booth near your dressing rooms, so your customers can upload their outfits or check with friends which ones they should buy.

Create in-store experiences relevant to what you sell – In-store experiences are great to give the customer a little bit more than visiting the store to purchase an item. For example, a bookstore could have author readings and a book signing.

Whet your customers’ appetites – Including a coffee shop or an eatery in your store is a great way to invite your customers in and allow them to browse.

Emphasize the experience of owning the product – This should be an important goal of your company’s marketing and sales team. You can do this by conveying how the product will help you perform an experience. For example, advertising depicting the experience of surfing by owning a custom-made wetsuit.

 

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Is frozen yogurt healthier than ice cream?

Written by Gelato Products

Frozen yogurt shops have become popular treat among adults and kids alike. This could be due to its taste or the fact that people believe it is a healthier choice compared to ice cream. Here are a few facts that will help you decide.

Serving Size – Usually self-serve yogurt in white paper cups hold about 16-24 oz. On average frozen yogurt has about 100 calories per ½ cup. Therefore a full yogurt serve of 24oz will offer 500 calories or more.

Calories per oz – Since frozen yogurt has fewer calories from fat than ice cream, you will consume less fat. For example, a ½ cup of vanilla ice cream will have 100 calories and 2g of fat, while a ½ cup of frozen yogurt will have 100 calories and 0g of fat.

Probiotics – Probiotics is a beneficial bacteria that frozen yogurt supplies advertise. This form of bacteria is beneficial for your gut and will aid in digestion. To ensure your frozen yogurt has probiotics, look for the National Yogurt Association Live & Active Cultures seal.

The facts above suggests that frozen yogurt is healthier than ice cream. But it is important to keep your serving sizes to ½ a cup and to load up on fresh fruit instead of candy, like chocolate sprinkles, crushed cookies or brownies. Some of these candies have a hefty 50 calories per serve.

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Gelato Products specializes in ice cream shop supplies for various occasions. Some of their products offerings include gelato cups and spoons along with coffee cups and lids.

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