Author: Steve Header

 

Write everything down. It’s amazing how accomplished you’ll feel 

 

By Mike Kappel

Every part of your business has the potential to stress you out and keep you up at night — lack of sales, too much debt, not enough money, issues with employees, problems with equipment and operations. Your brain will constantly be going. All your problems and thoughts will be whirling around, making you tired and anxious. The pressure of constantly finding ways to grow your bottom line in business builds up.

Owning a business is stressful, and you can’t really escape it. The sooner you learn small business stress management, the better. As a serial entrepreneur, I know a lot about small business owner anxiety and stress. Here are my five tips for combating small business owner stress.

1. Remember what’s going right.
As you’re building your business, it is easy to only focus on the things that are going wrong. You can become stressed when you’re looking at all the things that are behind schedule, underfunded or need to be fixed.

You can improve your stress management in business by reminding yourself of the things that are going right. List out all your accomplishments and any small business milestones you’ve achieved. There are probably more than you realize. Don’t neglect even the smallest accomplishments. Put your list somewhere you can easily see it, such as on your desk or the wall. Whenever you feel stressed about all the things that are going wrong, look at your list. Take a moment to remember all the things that have gone right.

2. Rank your tasks.
One of the causes of stress in business is having so many things to work on that none of them get done. If you try to do a little bit of each task, you will complete few of them. Don’t try to do everything at once. Try to focus on one or a small number of tasks at a time.

You need to prioritize your goals. Write down everything that you need to complete. Then, rank your tasks from greatest to least. The things you need to do first should be at the top of your list. As you work, focus on the most important tasks. Once you finish those, you can move down the list. You’re essentially creating an agenda for yourself.
Now, some people might get stressed when they see the number of tasks they need to do. Try not to get overwhelmed by the length of your list. Focus on what you need to work on next.

3. Purge your brain.
As a business owner, there’s rarely a separation between work and home. You’ll constantly think about your business and the things you could be doing. Sometimes, you can’t stop thinking about your business. Your brain is on nonstop, even when you’re trying to sleep.

When my brain won’t shut down, I write everything down that my mind is trying to process. I’ll write down my problem, possible solutions and miscellaneous notes. Sometimes writing everything out can take a while, but it’s worth it. After I write everything down, I can relax and sleep. My brain doesn’t have anything to process because I put all my thoughts in a safe place. I don’t have to worry about my business for a time because I know everything is waiting for me later, and I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything.

4. Take breaks.
This is probably the simplest piece of business owner stress management advice — take a break. If you’re constantly spinning your wheels, not getting anywhere, and stressing about the problem, taking a short break might be all you need. Stepping away from the stressor for even 10 minutes can refresh and calm you. Taking a break can even prevent burnout.

When you take a break, do something that relaxes you. Go for a walk. Get some coffee. Call a friend. Watch a funny video. Don’t do anything business related. When you get back to your business, you will have a clearer mind. You will have fresh energy to tackle the task. And, stepping away might even open your eyes to a new and better way to complete the task.

5. Take care of yourself.
Good health is important when you’re an entrepreneur. Running a business takes a lot out of you. Your small business comes with long nights, early mornings, no weekends and no sick days. Your nonstop life puts strain on your body, and then you add stress on top of that.

You need to take care of yourself. Don’t forget to do the simple things. Drink water throughout the day. Regularly eat. Get some sleep. Try to do some additional things, too. Go to a health food store and buy some natural supplements. Reduce your caffeine consumption. When you’re healthy, your body can better handle the stress.

If you can, regularly exercise. While exercise will make you physically fit, it is also a great method of small business stress management. Through exercise, you can release your anxieties and frustrations. You can clear your mind and relax. Even a small amount of exercise can reduce your stress.

By Paychex Worx Human Resourses

If you’re looking to hire your first employees, understanding today’s hiring landscape is essential. Businesses may make the mistake of basing their hiring methods and decisions on outdated hiring practices that are largely no longer relevant.

To avoid that, consider these three hiring myths before making your next hiring decision.

Myth 1: Outsourcing is only for large, international corporations.
Although outsourcing may have at one time been synonymous with sending work overseas, the term has since evolved. Outsourcing tasks like data entry, computer setup and repair, or development of legal contracts is an option many small businesses choose. Increasingly, business owners are also using professional services to handle more complex work such as payroll processing and tax preparation, HR support, and other administrative functions in order to stay focused on more strategic parts of the business.

For infrequent or short assignments, businesses are also considering outsourcing work to freelance talent or short-term contractors (commonly referred to as “gig workers”). A recent Paychex Pulse of HR Survey found that while full-time employment is still the primary mode of staffing, about half of HR leaders under the age of 34 said they currently hire gig workers.

One factor is certainly cost. The expense of hiring, continually paying regular employees, and providing any benefits you offer could lead small businesses to think about available talent in a different way. Ensure workers meet requirements to be classified as independent contractors.

Myth 2: Hiring a marketer isn’t necessary.
There have been times when marketers were perceived as creative spirits who weren’t focused on the bottom line. The marketer of today is more akin to a sales manager, operational strategist, and visionary all rolled into one. With a constantly changing marketing landscape, these employees must adapt to technology quickly, learn to meet the needs of consumers, and stay current with the latest trends in communication to make sure the company’s messages are delivered in the best way and heard.

Performance tracking in the marketing industry has also undergone a major upheaval. Marketers are no longer justifying their efforts by relegating them to subjective metrics like “improvements in customer loyalty” or “increases in brand awareness.”

Instead, marketers are held accountable for return on investment and direct contributions to the company’s bottom line – getting sales leads, attracting website visitors, and so on. So while a marketer may not initially seem like a hiring priority, this professional can help in many aspects of your business operations.

Myth 3: Using a hiring solution is too costly for most small business owners.
Coordinating all of your small business hiring internally can be costly, time consuming, and could even lead to poor hiring decisions. Without some help, many small businesses may not have the expertise or resources to properly attract, interview, and vet candidates before bringing them on board. Using a hiring solution can go a long way in helping you find and attract the right candidates.

Hiring and applicant tracking programs enable you to have a more efficient, paperless hiring process. Leading employee hiring solutions allow recruiters to be in control while helping your company gain top-quality employees.

Before getting started with the hiring process, thorough planning can help your business hire the best applicants. Take the time to consider these common misconceptions, and explore the options available today to maximize your hiring strategies.

 

by Delilah Kaufman

Your site is up, your product is ready to go, and here you sit, like a shopkeeper behind a counter, at your computer awaiting your first customer. Congratulations! The hard part is over… or is it?

Whether you’ve been in the game for a while now, or this is your first few steps into the small business world, you might have already considered advertising for your store. And it might scare you! You’ve put all this time and money into the infrastructure of your store, and now you’ve got to spend more time and money?

Don’t Worry… This Is the Internet!
The world wide web truly is a magical place. It’s where I buy my favorite things, stay in touch with my friends, and avoid confronting real-world things like doing the laundry. It’s also where you, our entrepreneur in question, can explore new opportunities to bring your business to new heights.

Nowadays, most online businesses exist outside just their websites themselves. Facebook pages, Instagram accounts, even Twitter accounts; there’s a platform everywhere to advertise your site for free. The beauty of social media also allows for creativity and a chance to interact with your customers. It allows you to stand out without be pinned down by some of the tropes of advertising: you no longer have to say it all in one ad. And with commenting and likes, the hands-on nature of social media will allow you to create more authentic relationships with your customers, rather than just through customer service after a transaction has been made.

Facebook
Everyone seems to have an opinion on Facebook. Maybe you have a lukewarm relationship with it like me, but with literal billions of people now using it, everyone and their mother seems to be on it.

Maintaining a page to advertise your shop on Facebook isn’t only just a good idea because of the amount of people on it, but because it allows you to inform your customers of new additions to your shop and other updates without overwhelming them.

Much like an email newsletter, Facebook can be used to regularly let your customers know about upcoming events, sales, and other news, but on a more casual, less in-your-face basis.

Additionally, Facebook offers interactivity with your customers not only through likes and comments, but through private messaging as well. Easier than searching for a phone number or email on most businesses’ websites!

Instagram
Instagram allows you to show off your catalogue through photography and video, allowing customers to see what you have to offer in a tangible and non-time consuming platform. And with tagging and Instagram’s intuitive “Explore” feature, your shop’s Instagram can easily be discovered by potential consumers without putting in all the extra leg work.

Facebook technically has this feature too, but in my opinion, Instagram successfully utilizes its Live and Story features better than any social media platform. It easily integrates media viewing in such a way that doesn’t overwhelm the user with other features (the way Facebook and Snapchat seem to do) and allows for cool opportunities such as the chance for your customers to “meet” your staff, see behind-the-scenes at your shop, and just generally allow your customers to see that your shop is more than just a store online, but a business run by interesting people excited by their work.

Word of Mouth
Now I don’t mean this totally literally… just in the spirit of it! In the early days of your business, you’ll quickly realize your shop won’t be able to go from zero to sixty. This isn’t like opening up a brick and mortar store that draws in customers instantly; unfortunately, there will be some waiting, even with any advertising.

Fortunately, you’ve got access to friends, family, acquaintances, associates… people! Post a humble link on your personal Facebook page informing your friends about your baby. Let them know about your hard work! Casually bring up your store while socializing at a party. Print up business cards, and hand them out whenever someone asks for your number.

We socialize so often, it only makes sense to take these opportunities to market yourself. And with “networking,” as it’s aptly called, there comes the humor of how real world socializing is a “platform” like Facebook or Instagram is. That may be either a good or bad thing, depending on how your personal attitude of social media is, but you’ll soon realize why social media platforms work because of it.

 

 

 

By Salesforce for SMB

Networking skills: sometimes it feels like you either have them or you don’t. Putting yourself out there at social gatherings comes so naturally to a lot of folks, while others struggle when forced to strike up conversations with strangers.

Networking can be especially overwhelming for small business teams, who usually don’t have a safety net of colleagues at networking events — or a big company name in their back pockets. Yet networking has clear benefits that can help your company and career.

Not only does it expand your network of contacts, it introduces you to new opportunities, advice and opinions. Put in a little practice, and networking makes you more visible and even helps boost your self confidence.

Next week is Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual user and developer conference, and we often hear that it’s overwhelming for small businesses to connect among the tens of thousands of attendees on site. So here are seven tips for small business leaders to use networking to your advantage — at Dreamforce and beyond.

Set a Goal
What will networking success look like for you? Perhaps it’s one or two solid contacts you enjoyed speaking to and look forward to seeing again at future events. Perhaps it’s news of a job opening at an up-and-coming company. Or perhaps it’s learning about a new product or resource for your own small business. Whatever you’re looking to do, spell it out so you can work toward it.

Make Contacts in Advance
Events these days often have a social component to them — like an attendee community portal or Facebook page. Make friends and get to know people ahead of time, so you’re ready for a face-to-face meeting at the event. Go ahead and put yourself out there: Post a message letting others know you’ll be at the event and want to make new contacts. Odds are, there are plenty of others looking to do the same.

Bring a Wingman
Bringing a buddy or colleague to the event is a great confidence booster. Not only is it one other person you know in the room, but your friend may be able to use his or her connections to make an introduction to someone else. Just be careful not to lean on your buddy too much; otherwise you’ll defeat the whole purpose of networking.

Educate Yourself
What issues and trends affect your business or industry on a regular basis? Before you attend an event, be sure to check out some new thinking and give yourself some talking points. TED Talks, Sal Chats, and industry podcasts like How I Built This offer thought-provoking presentations designed to encourage ideas, innovation… and great discussions.

Look Across, Not Up
A lot of people think of networking as introducing yourself to someone in a position of power — yet those “up” interactions are soon forgotten and likely won’t get you anywhere. A better bet is to “network across,” or meet people in positions similar to yours. Share stories, find commonalities, and form a bond. These lasting connections are more likely to help you down the road, and let’s be honest: they’re a lot more fun.

Be Authentic
Arguably the most important aspect of any networking conversation is authenticity. Be yourself and try to connect with people about real things that have meaning for you. There’s no need to fake it until you make it; even just one new connection is one more than you arrived with… and that one authentic conversation will prove much more helpful than just stating your name and credentials.

Practice Ahead of Time
Even if you do all of the above, you still might not feel completely comfortable schmoozing at an industry conference or event. But you can make the process less stressful by attending networking events on a regular basis. There’s a reason they say practice makes perfect, so also try flexing your communication skills back at the office; it’s as easy as striking up a conversation with a new colleague in the break room.

Now Get Started: Network Like a Pro
Ready to practice networking like a pro? Grab a free Expo pass to Dreamforce and join us November 6-9 in San Francisco! Can’t make it this year? Check out our other Salesforce networking events, coming live to a city near you.

 

By Liz Ryan

There is a huge difference between a strong leader and a weak, insecure manager. To be a leader, you have to use your voice. As nice as your boss is, it is very mean of her or him to stay silent when their team members are being mistreated by another manager.

Here are ten differences between strong leaders and weak managers:

1. Leaders don’t bash and belittle people. Weak managers do because they don’t have the confidence to have an honest and compassionate conversation about problems and solutions.

2. Leaders practice and role-model leadership behaviors. For instance, a manager can confront an employee and say “Cindy, you know your job and I’ve learned a lot from you. I need you to stop criticizing my employees. If you have a problem with something that happened in my department, come to me directly with it.” Weak managers keep quiet when people act inappropriately at work because they’re afraid to speak up although it is part of her job to do so.

3. Leaders operate in trust. Weak managers operate in fear. Sadly, a manager can’t help a employee with that problem because he or she is afraid to name the elephant in the room. No one is getting what they need and the issue isn’t even getting aired.

4. A Leader steps into scary situations. If your manager could just find enough courage to address this employee, they would shift the energy in your workplace for the better.

5. Leaders don’t let other people put them down — or put down anyone in their vicinity. Weak managers do. They pretend not to notice the bad behavior they see and hear around them because they’re afraid to confront it.

6. Leaders don’t yell, intimidate people or make snide comments. They encourage their employees and reinforce positive behaviors. Weak managers use the threat of force (e.g., termination) to make people bend to their will and keep them off guard.

7. Leaders are secure enough in themselves to address difficult situations forthrightly. Strong leaders feel the same fear we all feel, but they step through it. Weak managers can’t do that, so they ignore difficult situations until things fall apart.

8. Leaders build trust and teamwork around them. Weak managers build fear and competition around them to preserve their puny bureaucratic power base. The only real power a weak manager has is the power of the job title somebody else bestowed on them. Real leaders have personal power. They would be powerful with or without a fancy job title.

9. Leaders take care of other people and support them, honestly and compassionately. Weak managers wield their power over other people to control them.

10. Leaders take everything in stride. They might react to a situation or event with the same fearful or even panicky emotions anyone would feel, but they don’t act on those initial, panicky emotions. They take a few deep breaths, remember that we are only on this planet for a short time, and manage their way through difficult situations with grace and maturity. They keep their cool. Weak managers can’t stay calm. They are always ready to pounce and find fault because when they find fault with someone else it deflects the blame that might otherwise fall on them.

As published in Forbes.com / modified for LuciditySBM.com

 

Life is too uncertain to wait around for ‘the right time.’

By Shakir Akorede

“It’s not yet the right time.”

By telling yourself this, you kill your dreams from coming to fruition. Life is too uncertain to wait around for the “right time.”

Time means different things to different people. To a procrastinator, time justifies inaction. To a go-getter, time has no other meaning than a tool to achieve constant missions.

Want to break away from limitations and turn success a usual habit? Consider giving these practicable tips a try.

Understand your dream.
Dreams are not always what you see during sleep. Sometimes, they’re the thoughts that take away your sleep. Whichever, the first step of turning your dream into reality is to understand its metaphors. Arianna Huffington said, “Our dreams are, and always will be, a gateway to another world, a timeless journey to other inward dimensions.”

Dreams are a tool of self-discovery, which is why you have to dream big. Then, take a step further by setting clear goals that are informed by thoughtful decisions. As such, you end up making every day count as you turn it to the “right time” with ease.

Set achievable goals.
With a dream, you’re probably going to live a purposeful life. But, if you want to be sure, you have to set a list of time-bound, feasible goals. Remember, it’s one thing to have ambitions. It’s another thing to have realistic aspirations.

Research shows that people abandon their goals because they are too big to handle. According to Michael Hyatt, no one can really focus for more than five to seven items at a time. Setting broad goals is thus a recipe for losing focus and accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of goals that you can repeat almost from memory.
Setting complicated goals is daunting. So, it is better to try clear and compelling goals that will always motivate you.

Storm out of the comfort zone.
Psychologists tell us how comfort kills, and there’s no denying that.
If you are like most people, you’ll find endless pleasure in leisure activities. You’ll never want to go the extra mile. Unfortunately, this is why the right time has never dawned.

You have to untie yourself from the comfort zone if you want to start making things work on a daily basis. Yet, science says not everything outside the comfort zone is always good. To be on the safer side, learn the Yerkes-Dodson law of performance. It’s a key for optimal success with lesser anxiety.

Replace fear with unshakable confidence.
All the tips above are great, but none will work if fear runs through your vein. The fear of failure, criticism and, sometimes, rejection will continue to make all days a “wrong day.”

Jacqueline Whitmore explains how to build confidence. One of the many ways, according to her, is speaking in an assertive voice. Further, thinking and acting in positive ways and taking up challenges are a great way to defeat fear.

Stay inspired.
Sometimes, it only takes one line of inspiration to set your day on the right path of success. There is also something so awe-inspiring in the success stories of others. To that end, read books that talk about success and start imitating the way to daily success.
Likewise, daily inspirations provide the impetus for successful days. If your mind isn’t inspiring, enough, try listening to others.

Time and tide will never wait. Understanding this, successful people take actions, irrespective of the time and occasion. If you want to be an all-time achiever, you must stop waiting for the right time.

 

 

Using “blocks,” “sprints” and sub-categorizing is just one strategy to consider

By  Jayson DeMers

When big businesses think about productivity, they often think in terms of their return on investment (ROI): Each employee costs a specific amount of money, so the company needs that employee to generate value in excess of that expenditure. Still, I’ve noticed that entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to think of productivity differently, for two reasons:

The number of tasks exceeds the number of people available to do them. Building a company from scratch takes an enormous amount of work from everyone involved. There usually aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything, so productivity becomes less about using your hours optimally than trying to make as much progress as possible as fast as possible.

Money is limited. When there’s more work than can reasonably be handled by your current staff, the most logical option is to hire new people, but small businesses and startups are operating with limited capital, and can’t always afford new personnel or automated tools to handle work for them.

So, how can you optimize your business to get more done every day, without resorting to hiring more people?

1. Minimize communication.
Communication is often the biggest and most important part of a business’s operation — at least it seems that way. We spend hours a day reading and responding to emails, listening to voicemails, texting, instant-messaging and meeting and chatting with others. Many of these hours are necessary and productive, but a significant percentage ends up being wasted.

In short, meetings aren’t always necessary. Your phone calls often run long. You’re distracted by unimportant incoming emails and instant messages. So, instead of being a slave to communication, work to minimize your communication channels, and make sure you dedicate the bulk of your day to committed, focused work.

2. Favor specialization over generalization.
In a startup or small business environment, the diversity of work to be done and the limited number of people available to do it often means you and your employees become generalists, each responsible for wearing several different hats, many of which overlap with your coworkers’.

However, organizations almost always operate more efficiently when tasks are distributed to specialists who focus on single fields of expertise; this is the entire philosophy behind the assembly line. If you can, try to assign and delegate tasks consistently among your employees, favoring assignments that tie in to each individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

3. Use “blocks,” “sprints” and sub-categories.
People tend to work better when tracking and measuring small, achievable goals than they do trying to tackle enormous projects. Accordingly, you should try to divide your projects and overarching tasks into smaller sub-categories. In the programming world, these short bursts of tasks and goals are referred to as “sprints.”

They could also be described as “blocks.” In any case, when you structure your goals and tasks in this way, you’ll be able to set more realistic, functional priorities, and you’ll spend your time working on the most important tasks for each day.

4. Rest.
When time is limited and work is demanding, many entrepreneurs end up working long hours, extending into their nights and weekends. It makes sense that spending more hours means you get more done, but it’s actually better to invest at least part of your time to rest and decompress.

Overworking yourself might give you a short-term boost in total tasks accomplished, but you’ll wear yourself out, reducing your cognitive abilities, adding stress to your life and possibly putting you at risk of burning out.

5. Stop adding projects.
Entrepreneurs are a naturally ambitious bunch. Every time they get a new idea, they add it to an already-massive list of ideas to sort through. They change direction frequently, and often overextend themselves in the effort.

This is admirable in many cases, but it leads to a frenetic working style that ultimately results in fewer completed tasks and projects. Instead of adding more to the pile, focus on what you already have.

6. Look for low-cost help.
Consider looking for low-cost help in the form of personal assistants or independent contractors. Your time is valuable, and if you can pay these workers less than your time’s value to handle some of your time-intensive tasks, they’ll be worth the investment.

It’s entirely possible to optimize the time you and your employees are already spending in a way that allows you to get more done on a daily, and weekly, basis. Once you adopt these strategies, you’ll notice your task lists gradually shrinking, and you’ll get closer to building the sustainable revenue stream you need to justify hiring another staff member.

And, who knows? By the time you get to that point, you might find your processes so optimized, you won’t need to hire someone new after all.

 

 

 

Is it in your control as a business owner to increase the number of referrals you receive on a monthly basis or is it luck of the draw?

By Dan Slagen

Alignable recently completed a survey of 7,500 small-business owners in North America and asked participants a single question — what’s the best way to acquire local customers?

The results?

• 85 percent said word-of-mouth referrals.
• 2 percent said radio ads.
• 1 percent said newspaper ads.
• 9 percent said Google/Facebook ads.
• 2 percent said direct mail.

A whopping 85 percent of business owners said word-of-mouth referrals! Of course everyone loves and wants referrals, but how do you get them? Is it in your control as a business owner to increase the number of referrals you receive on a monthly basis or is it luck of the draw? When business owners ask me this question, I often think about the quote: I’m a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more luck I have. While working harder will often produce better results, working harder with the right strategy in place ensures success.

1. Perfect your local listing.

When someone refers your business to another person, what’s the first thing that’s going to happen? Since over 90 percent of consumers depend on online reviews, expect people will first search for your business by name on Google to look specifically at your five-star rating. This is a real opportunity for a number of business owners for two reasons. First, over 50 percent of businesses haven’t claimed their Google local listing, so when a user searches for the brand they can’t find what they need. Second, having 10 written reviews is the minimum number you should have to make sure people trust your business profile.

Keep in mind your reviews don’t have to be perfect, as 94 percent of consumers would use a business with a four-star rating. The importance here is to have more than 10 written reviews. Finally, don’t forget that Bing accounts for 22 percent of all search engine queries, and you can set up a local listing there too!

2. Be memorable to every customer.

As a business owner, you (or your employees) interact with your customers each and every day. What memorable experience do you leave with them at the end of your interaction together? Every business owner says they prioritize treating their customers well, and you have to, but what else can you do to not only make them remember you but talk about you with others?

What if you took a picture with every satisfied customer you have and post it to your Facebook business page and tag them? That way, they would share it with their Facebook network every time. Or, what if you give each of your customers a wristband to wear that says “$0.65 vs. $0.35” to represent that $0.65 of every dollar spent on a local business stays in the local community vs. $0.35 with national businesses. Or, what if you send a handwritten card to each of your customers and offer 10 percent off their purchase if they send you a referral in the next week?

Some of these ideas will sound crazy, but the important thing is people remember you so your business is top of mind and they can associate your business with more than just “I treat my customers well.”

3. Consistently empower your referral network.

The stronger your referral network is, the more referrals you’ll receive. This involves growing your referral network, which you can do by attending networking events, joining referral networks like BNI, or joining online communities like Alignable, LinkedIn or Nextdoor. Once you’ve established your referral network, think about growing it by looking for folks in your local area or that share similar customers as you.

Then, empower your referral network on a consistent basis, starting with once a month. What do you want your network to know about your business this month? What are you offering that they can help spread the word about? Have something new and special each month and continue to remind them. It’s not you being annoying; it’s you staying top of mind. After all, this is your referral network, it serves the purpose of helping you generate referrals!

The most important part of generating more referrals is deciding as a business owner that you’re going to spend time every week just focused on it. Start with 20 minutes per week in which you shut off the outside world and focus 100 percent on doing any or all of these three things.

Here’s a quick schedule you could follow at the start of a month:

• Week 1: Email everyone in your referral network (past customers, contacts, network connections) about what they should know about your business this month and how they can help spread the word. You can even offer a fun reward to the winning referrer each month.
• Week 2: Take time to make sure your Google listing is complete with all your info, website, hours and description. Add photos and ask five people to write a written review of your business.
• Week 3: Think about one area of your everyday operations where you’re not being opportunistic to further get referrals. Go through the lifecycle of prospect to satisfied customer, and ask yourself at every step of the way when you could have been more opportunistic to generate referrals
• Week 4: Brainstorm 10 ideas how you can be more memorable to your customers. Involve people in your company in the brainstorm. You could have ways to be memorable each month, or it could be working to better perfect your existing “memorable strategy.” The idea here really focuses on how you can get one person to tell others about your business, which can be done both online like on Facebook to their network, as well as offline.

Be opportunistic about getting referrals. It’s not something you can turn on overnight, but rather a mindset and commitment. It’s about developing a consistent behavior to take a step back and ask yourself what’s happening this week or month that you can use to your advantage. What you’ll notice is that your referral engine will start to spin on its own, and the more consistent you are with adding value to it, the more it will spin.

 

 

 

A few years ago, sisters Amra and Elma Beganovich had good, albeit self-described “unexciting,” careers.

Not for long.

By Steve Strauss

As Georgetown Law grad Elma told me recently, she was a former Capitol Hill intern, Department of Justice clerk and was busy practicing securities law. Amra was an economist for the World Bank.

Smart? You bet. Glamorous? Not so much.

My, how times have changed.

Today the sisters:
► Have well more than 2 million total social media followers on various accounts.
► Run a top digital marketing agency that helps other influencers “make their brand explode.”
► Are a trending online brand themselves — actually, two brands, Club Fashionista and Amra and Elma …

… And they have an incredibly popular fashion blog, create viral content and get paid big bucks to travel the world and post about it.
Not a bad gig, not at all. Definitely not boring.

And that begs the questions: How did they get from where they were to where they are (let’s find out), and can you do the same? (Yes.)

Elma and Amra started out by doing what entrepreneurs are always counseled to do —  something they loved. In their case, almost on a whim and in their “spare time,” they started blogging and posting about fashion, travel, makeup and so on. That they had a great eye and sense for what people liked didn’t hurt. Within a few months, they started getting more than 100,000 visitors to their blog. Their visually striking content struck a nerve, big brands noticed and the sisters soon realized “this could be a business!”

As their blog and brand grew, so did their social media following. Back then, you could get Amra and Elma to tweet about you for $99. These days they command $20,000 per sponsored Instagram post and up.

But here’s the deal: These are not just two smart and charming women who found a niche (though that is true, too), they worked hard, took calculated risks and learned their craft. Example: As their empire started to take off, the sisters went back to school to learn how to code. Sure, they could have hired someone to do this for them, but notably, they didn’t.

So, can you, or anyone, become an influencer in your industry? You bet. Here are a few tips Amra and Elma say make a difference:

1. Decide on a brand that is different, better: As you create your online persona, the question to ask and answer is, how are you unique? How can you stand out from the crowd? Especially in today’s crowded social media marketplace, this is vital.

2. Remember, content is king: The old maxim is true, Elma says. And if you look at their content, you know that they take this rule seriously. In their case, it is a matter of taking and posting great images — images that engage and are inviting (nowadays, they have a team of top photographers to help them.)

But, Elma suggests, having good content is not enough. You have to get people to notice it.

3. Engage: How do you get people to notice you and your content? Elma suggests that you have to post it and be where they are online. Who are you targeting? What websites do they frequent? Your job is to figure that out and post your content where they can easily find it and share it.

Additionally, she suggests, “Follow the influencers you want to influence and give them a compliment or a shout out.” Engage with the people who follow you. For instance, if you tag followers and influencers in your posts, they will be more likely to share your content, and, when that happens, then their followers will learn about you and can begin to follow you as well.

These days, there is a lot of competition for eyeballs. Everything can seem so busy and calculated. But the story of these two sisters proves that people still notice and appreciate quality, hard work and creativity. Offer that and influence can be yours, too.

Steve Strauss, @Steve Strauss on Twitter, is a lawyer specializing in small business and entrepreneurship and has been writing for USATODAY.com for 20 years. Email: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com. You can learn more about Steve at MrAllBiz.
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By Blake Stimac

Starting your own business is a challenging venture unto itself, but marketing it can be a whole different beast. It doesn’t stop at just creating a stunning website, you’ll need to know what type of marketing techniques you’ll want to use to promote your business, as there are several.

That’s where we come in! Below we’ll detail some different approaches that you can use in order to promote your business:

Inbound marketing vs outbound marketing
Inbound marketing and outbound marketing can be (somewhat) summed up by the directions they lead. While outbound marketing pushes a brand or products on a consumer, inbound marketing pulls the consumer in. Outbound marketing is also considered to be an older and more traditional method, where as inbound marketing is newer and has become increasingly more popular.

Outbound marketing can be seen by ads in the newspaper, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. that attempts to push a consumer to purchase their products, where its counterpart is quite the opposite. The inbound marketing technique is to create and publish content that your target audience will find valuable to draw them to your brand. Other inbound marketing techniques include sending newsletters to your subscribers, sharing content on social media channels and more. See? Push, pull.

As inbound marketing may be the more popular of the two methods in this day and age, some businesses may find outbound tactics successful in some instances. Take a local business that’s trying to get its name out to the city or town it operates in. Posting an ad in the newspaper or sending out a letter to residents that live in close vicinity may work in its favor. Of course, we’d also suggest that said business also embraces some inbound tactics, to cover their bases on the online and social front as well.

Content marketing
While content marketing is essentially a sub-category of inbound marketing, the latter couldn’t exist without the former. Content marketing has become an increasingly popular technique and it likely won’t slow down anytime soon. It’s defined as a type of marketing focused on creating, publishing and distributing content for a targeted audience online. However, this method isn’t about pushing your business itself but providing relevant and valuable content to your target audience in anticipation of their needs for it. Obviously, the ROI might be a bit more difficult to evaluate but the efficiency of this technique has already been proven.

Producing valuable content for your audience will help build and nurture your community. Said content can come in the form of videos, blogs, podcasts, infographics etc. and is usually shared on social media networks. By providing this valuable and shareable content, your target market can, in turn, help your business by spreading the word and sharing it (and your brand). In addition, the relationship you create with your audience will last longer than if they had just seen an ad of yours – Keep in mind that if your content is good enough, people will remember you.
To sum it up: Content marketing is less direct but creates a lasting impression.

Email marketing
Want to keep your customers in the know about upcoming sales and new products? If so, then email marketing is a great place to start!

By adding an application like Get Subscribers to your website, you can offer your customers the option to sign up for your newsletter. Option is the keyword here. Unlike cold emailing and other outbound marketing techniques, your customers are giving their permission for you to email them about your business.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing is your frequency. The last thing you’ll want to do is spam your subscribers. This will more than likely cause people to ignore your emails and eventually, unsubscribe. Find a sweet spot and be sure to track the open and click rates in your analytics tool that’s built right into Wix Shoutout.

Make social networks work for you
While it’s important that you entice existing and potential customers to visit your website, you should also engage with them elsewhere, and social networks are perfect for this!

In addition to publishing content that your community will enjoy and engage with, you also want to engage back! Reply to comments, ask questions, and hear your community’s feedback. Grooming and nurturing your community builds trust and creates loyal customers.

Social Advertising
As we mentioned above, social networks can and should be used for content marketing and community management. This doesn’t change the fact that social advertising remains to be one the most efficient and direct marketing tools for SMBs. Using the promotion tools of Facebook, YouTube and other platforms is worth the investment for many reasons:

It’s very targeted: You speak with an audience with interests and demographic parameters that are relevant to your business’ needs.
It fits all budgets: Any small business can decide how much money they want to spend according to their budget – from the local pizzeria to big tech companies.
You get what you pay for: Usually, you’ll pay either per impression (views of your ad) or clicks on your call to action. Every penny is spent wisely.
With all that, you can enjoy rich analytics tools to constantly optimize your content in order to improve your social strategy.

Search engine marketing
If you have a website, proper SEO and sharing on social media can be great to get your business name out there. However, some businesses may want to look into paid advertising to show up on search engines like Google, Bing and more.

This approach usually consists of bidding for a specific search phrase so that your website will appear when someone searches for that specific phrase. When your website shows up in the non-organic search results and someone clicks it, you are required to pay the bid price you set when creating your ad.

The more you’re willing to pay per click, the more often your website will likely appear when someone searches your desired keyphrase.

Local advertising
If your business is a brick and mortar store, you’ll definitely want to look into local advertising along with your online presence. Luckily, there are several different ways to do this.

A great first step is to submit your business to local directories. For example, enlisting on Google My Business will land you on Google Maps almost immediately. Other services like Yahoo Local, Yelp, and Craigslist will also help your local presence online.

As we mentioned earlier, outbound marketing also has an important role while advertising locally. You can run advertisements in your local newspapers, magazines and radio stations, and even place a bumper sticker or sign on your own car to literally advertise on the go.

Guerilla marketing
Guerilla marketing is usually a low-cost and usually highly-effective strategy when applied correctly. It’s unconventional nature lends itself to be “out there” in ways traditional strategies are not. It can be used in a variety of ways, which can make defining it difficult. However, one thing with this strategy remains the same: it’s usually done outside or in other public places to ensure maximum exposure.

There’s usually an imaginative “wow-factor” to take people by surprise and generate buzz. One of the most simple (and common) guerilla marketing tactics is either posting or passing out flyers or products for your brand or even using street art. However, there are several other (more extreme) ways guerilla marketing techniques get attention.

While guerilla marketing is said to be primarily a method for small businesses, it hasn’t stopped big brands that are already known to use it. Take a look at National Geographic’s ad for Shark Week, showing a shark literally chomping on you as you enter a bus.

Prank advertising
Want to really create a lasting effect with your ads? Prank advertising has been a very popular method of grabbing and keeping attention. There’s little to explain when it comes to this technique, as we’re sure you’ve been at the butt end of a prank or two yourself.

Many prank ads are designed to shock or scare, only to offer a sigh of relief when the “victim” realizes that it is indeed a trick. Take LG’s “So Real It’s Scary” ad for example. The company used a prank to showcase how lifelike it’s IPS monitors are, by making people in an elevator believe that the floor is literally falling beneath them!

Partnership marketing
Another great way to promote your business is to partner up with another business for cross-promotion in some form or another. The partnership should be created with a business that shares both your company values and has a similar audience, but is not a direct competitor.

There are a handful of ways that your business can work with another, such as co-producing content to share online or offering discounts at business ‘A’ if they are members at Business ‘B’ and vice versa. Partnership marketing benefits both businesses allowing each other access to a wider audience they previously may not have reached.

Having trouble finding the perfect partnership? Then maybe a little outreach marketing will do you well!