Now, more than ever, businesses need cutting edge marketing in order to stay afloat. Having cutting edge technology or an acclaimed business model, is always a great leg-up, but what will any of that mean if you are not reaching your audience?

Arby’s Roast Beef sandwiches franchise recently went through a re-structuring of their marketing platforms when their sales began slumping. “We had lost about $150,000 in sales per restaurant over a four-year period, which for a brand our size is essentially catastrophic,” Arby’s brand president and marketing boss, Rob Lynch, told Adweek.

So what did they do to fix this problem? Sure, they made some adjustments to their products, but the major improvement in their company happened through online marketing. Most notably, the tweet about Pharrel Williams’ Hat and it’s resemblance to the Arby’s icon which was retweeted 80,000 times resulting in 6,000 new followers.

Now, if you aren’t savvy to the world of online marketing and social media outreach, not to worry. There are plenty of business owners out there who did not grow up in the age of online marketing platforms and are in exactly the same boat. However, as it goes in all aspects of business, you do have to keep up with the times. If this means hiring someone to be in charge of your social media and online platforms, then do it! The interest you can bring in through online outsourcing will be invaluable to the longevity of your company. If you currently do not have the resources to bring in a professional tweeter or blogger, then read up on some techniques on how to use these sites for yourself. There is even a website that will allow you to send out your message on all platforms at the click of a button!

-Check out Hootsuite

And if you are still convinced that having a unique brick and mortar store with a great location is going to keep your business around for years to come, take a look at this infographic from godigitalmarketing.com that explains the impact online outreach can have on your company.

Entrepreneurship is perceived as a risky endeavor, where you have to bet everything while fighting tooth and nail to start a successful company; to quote Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds, “…if you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”  Does this still hold true, however?  Is entrepreneurship still a risky career path with low job security?  Over the past couple decades, the classic entrepreneur-employee, high risk-low risk paradigm has reversed.  It used to be that employers had large benefits packages, offered pension plans, or valued seniority and tenure.  These qualities are increasingly rare, and we find that entrepreneurs consistently have more independence and financial security.

Job Security as an Employee

The economy is undergoing a lot of changes as the marketplace becomes more volatile and digital technology disrupts classic business models.  According to the Bureau of Labor, the median number of years a worker has been with their current employer was only 4.6 years in 2014.  When you partition that statistic by age, you find that for 25-34 year olds, their median job tenure was 3 years, nearly three times less than 55-64 year olds, who generally stay 10.4 years at their jobs.  As an employee you can lack agency and are not always in control of your career path.  Who hasn’t seen stories of layoffs and downsizings in the news these days? Companies no longer expect life-long employees, so why don’t you take the opportunity to start your own.

Entrepreneurship Isn’t that Risky

Starting a business has never been easier, cheaper, or more popular than now.  Take this opportunity to decide how you want to spend your time and create value.  Successfully creating a company depends on a lot of factors, but the most important is hard work and effective planning.  Why do startups fail?  The number one reason found by CB Insights was that there was no market need for their product (42% of startup deaths were for this reason).  This could be avoided by applying lean startup strategies: immediately begin doing market research with your prototype product or service.  It doesn’t have to be perfect!  The intent of a minimum viable project, or MVP, is to test and iterate on your idea, incorporating feedback into a continual design process.  From this process you’ll get a much better idea of who uses your product and how.

For entrepreneurs looking to bootstrap their idea, the rise of computer and internet based tools have markedly decreased the costs for developing a business, giving you powerful tools from the very start.  The community of entrepreneurs in your area is also a great resource, providing networking opportunities, advice and expertise, and a support system as you develop your idea.  There’s no more argument—entrepreneurship is a safe bet for most.  All you need is an idea, hard work, and a willingness to fail and try again.

The Middle Ground

Starting a venture from the ground up can be intimidating, but there are often more structured opportunities, such as franchising.  Franchising is generally thought of in the context of food chains such as McDonald’s, but it is much more than that.  Instead of creating a completely new business model, you can purchase the right to use and improve an existing business model, giving you the security in knowing the process works, but freedom and flexibility to choose the work environment you’ve always wanted.  Franchises come in all shapes and sizes—everyone can find a fit, from Hampton Hotels to Jimmy John’s to Liberty Tax Service and many you probably did not know even existed!  The main benefits of franchising include:

Marketing partnerships are a great way of synergistically increasing impact and penetration while spreading the cost over several organizations. When done well, a marketing partnership amplifies each company’s central message, piggybacking on the positive characteristics of the partners and detracting from the negative. Some of the biggest organizational names on the globe have used marketing partnerships to leverage their brand messages, such as the following:

IBM

The godfather of computing has multiple co-marketing partnerships. In fact, Finish researchers are using them as a model for intercompany marketing dynamics. They found that a key component to a successful co-campaign includes joint planning and communication between well-aligned organizations. IBM has allied itself with various technical, non-manufacturing organizations, primarily in the educational and certification fields. This positions IBM to passively promote the use and upkeep of its systems without incurring direct costs. IBM communicates its technical requirements to schools that, in turn, teach it to the students. When creating your partnership, be sure to define the methodology of communication, so you get the greatest effect from the partnership.

HTC

Virtual reality technology is a hot topic that comes with a lot of free press. From gaming systems like Oculus Rift that commanded huge lines for its Comic-Con demo to futurist predictions that VR will be the medical and manufacturing standard in the next two decades, VR news brings a lot to the table. This is one reason that mobile manufacturer HTC has partnered with VR developer Valve. HTC is known for its high-resolution smartphone technology, so it is adding to Valve’s credibility in this partnership. In return, Valve places HTC at the forefront of mobile VR, which aligns with the overall goals of the smartphone giant. Because VR has a life of its own, this partnership will yield a lot of impact organically and with very little cost.

Levi’s

Doing something good for the world offers businesses and social service organizations an opportunity for a win-win scenario. When Levi’s partnered with Water.org and changed its manufacturing process so that the denim can be processed with an average of 26 percent less water, the joint Facebook page saw more than 50,000 visits in the first three days. This made a colossal impression on Levi’s brand reputation, painting it as a socially responsible multinational organization.

Group Farmer’s Association

The snake skin fruit grows of Indonesia’s Sleman District is composed of many small, family operated, low-tech farms that, as a group, are the biggest suppliers of snake skin fruit in the world. The fruit growers came together in a marketing effort and partnered with exporter AMS Exporting Company. This collaborative effort had the effect of nearly doubling the price earned by the farmers. Here, the marketing campaign evolved into a leveraged price increase for many small businesses.

Vatican

Within the Christian world, stem cell research and its relationship to abortion is a volatile political topic. The Catholic Church has partnered with stem cell research NeoStem to change the conversation from an aggressive and antagonistic stance to one where they find common ground. When creating your marketing partnership, keep in mind that it does not need to be a linear marketing campaign. Instead it can be used to create new concepts with your company being credited as a thought leader.

You shouldn’t invest more than 15 percent of your own money in a start-up franchise, according to a recent Small Business Administration interview. Since most lenders want to see buyers come up with 20 to 25 percent of the total investment themselves, that leaves budding franchise owners to figure out how to come up with the capital and protect their own assets at the same time. Here’s how to get started.

Monitor Your Credit

Before you do anything else, pull your credit report and start monitoring it for changes in your credit score, inaccuracies in reporting and any outstanding debts tarnishing your report. Your score can directly impact your ability to secure a loan, as well as the interest rate the banks will offer. But it’s not just about your lenders. Franchisers also look at credit scores to ensure a potential franchise owner can manage their own finances. According to industry sources, many franchises want to see credit scores above 700 to even touch the paperwork.

Keep tabs on your finances and online identity through a service like LifeLock. Protect yourself from identity theft and get notifications on data breaches, financial account activity alerts, court records scanning and more. LifeLock can also help restore your credit and financial reputation before identity theft spirals out of control.

Establish an Emergency Fund

Face the financial risks of investing in a franchise head-on and work the initial fees, start-up costs, marketing bills and royalty fees into your business plan. Recognize that you may not turn a profit in the first year or two and will need an emergency fund to push you along through leaner times. Remember you may need cash from your emergency fund with both your business and personal living expenses in mind.

Leverage your Credit Cards

Traditional advice says to take out a bank loan or try to work with the Small Business Administration for funding options. While good advice, neither are guaranteed. Big banks approve less than 15 percent of small business loan applications. Look for business credit cards with an introductory zero percent interest rate. Many will also promote cash advance checks with zero percent interest for up to 12 months. Use business credit cards in combination with your personal finances and alternative funding to secure your franchise.

Downgrade Your Lifestyle

Take inventory of your assets, from your home to your car, and research their approximate value. Once you have a list in place, look to see how you can downgrade to a smaller home or trade in your new car for a used one. If you’re not in a position to sell your home, speak to your lender about lines of credit and pulling equity as an option to fund your franchise. Remember you can also downgrade your services like car and health insurance, Internet, and cable. Allocate part of your funds to your emergency fund and the rest towards your franchising fees to cover yourself during down times.

Tap Your 401k Plan

Raiding your retirement fund should generally be used as a last resort. But there are ways it could be done creatively and with a bigger safety net in place. The Wall Street Journal suggested setting up a C-corporation to own and operate your new franchise. From there, you could roll over your money from a self-directed account into the corporation. Speak to an attorney specializing in franchising and an accountant to discuss your options and what type of risk is involved.

According to a poll by Gallup, 70 percent of American workers aren’t reaching their full potential, 52 percent are not engaged and 18 percent are actively disengaged. Gallup also estimates that disengaged employees cost the U.S. $450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity.

Engaging your employees is one of the biggest challenges and responsibilities of managers. But with your bottom line at risk, getting your staff to take ownership of their work and sales number is crucial. Motivate your team for success with a few key factors that could skyrocket their sales.

Empower Your Team to Succeed

Pressuring employees to hit goals and take more ownership of their sales numbers won’t do much without the right tools. Empower your team to succeed by giving them the technology and resources they need to complete tasks. For example, if your sales people need to take payments on the road, set up a mobile payment processor to close a sale on the spot. Take the time to listen to what your team needs from upgraded devices to new apps and customer relationship software. Ask your team members to write up a proposal on what they need and how it will affect their sales numbers. Letting your employees project their own success motivates them to execute.

Create an Incentive

Incentivizing your sales team for success takes more than just a pat on the back. Figure out what motivates your employees whether public recognition, a goal toward a promotion or the chance to work on a choice assignment. You can anonymously survey your staff to come up with an incentive program that works within your company’s goals, or ask each member independently what they want. Lay out your expectations of how your staff will work toward their incentives and create a schedule for how those incentives are given out.

Set Realistic, but Challenging Goals

Setting up impossible goals will only result in high turnover and stressed out employees. Create realistic sales figures that can be met within a specific period of time, but that are still challenging. Setting the bar too low can encourage employees to get complacent and opt for ease and mediocrity. Study their current sales figures and metrics to determine a realistic goal that stretches the employee outside their comfort zone.

Build in Checks and Balances

Blindly assigning goals without any adjustments to the finish line can drive down your sales. Regularly check on the progress of each rep and check-in to discuss new strategies and collaborate on tweaks as needed. Sales people who are lagging behind the team can use your scheduled check-ins and advice as an incentive to push forward and follow-through before your next meeting. Your team will see you as more than just a manager, but a leader with the ability to guide their success.

Publicly Recognize Their Work

Employees want to feel appreciated and that their work is valued to stay engaged. Keep your team integrated and involved in each other’s success by publicly recognizing their work. Instead of an Employee of the Month program, add the rep’s success to an upcoming newsletter or inter-office email. Take a moment in meetings to call out high-performing sales reps and compliment others who came up with solutions to challenges or dealt with a difficult client.