Hi, it's been awhile! I have been busy opening and running my new retail location. We have been in business for 2 months now. Business has steadily grown and I am now at the "break even" point, for which I am grateful only two months in. I think it's starting to level off a bit and maybe the "newness factor" is wearing off. It looks like it's time to advertise now. I have a small Facebook following and local mom's group that are loyal patrons. I am so grateful to them for getting me to this point and being so encouraging. Sooo.... should I invest in a Facebook ad? What other things have you found effective? Any ideas appreciated. ~Rachel

Spend the money on books that will help you market on facebook and twitter properly. Then you won't need to spend the $100.00 in advertising. I owned a marketing company for years. When you advertise, you need to make a commitment to continue that form of media. If you don't, you are wasting every penny. With such a small budget, you need to educate yourself.

Now, if you do not have great business cards, a logo, vehicle signs, storefront sign, etc., then spend it there.

Thank you for the advice! I do have a great logo and sign, thanks to talented family and friends and people willing to barter. I know $100 is a small budget- I can probably spend more, I was hoping to hear what others have done with $100 that worked. I managed a restaurant where the owner had a marketing degree, but really dropped the ball in that area. He didn't even put up one sign until 6 months after opening! There were 3 other places for signs that he never took advantage of. I did the best I could on my own, but it didn't quite do it. He did do some advertising and asked me to track what worked and what didn't. If he didn't see immediate returns, he cancelled it. Even I understand the concept of "branding" and repeated exposure. Last week, another cupcake shop opened up in the "mini-mall" I'm in, 20 feet away. It doesn't appear to be hurting my business. I don't do just cupcakes, but it is my most popular item. There does seem to be confusion on the part of the customers though who have heard about "that cupcake shop". She has put a sandwich board out front with balloons on it and has done a better job with catching people's eye, but I think because my shop is more towards the front I get some of that business by default, lol. I am going to take a lesson from her though and step it up!