Are you ready to make a change? When it comes to business, you know that you always have to be on the ball. It’s so easy to get left behind, to feel like you’re stuck, and to be overwhelmed by the task in front of you. That much is normal. But when you start to realize that things are getting a little out of hand, you will need to get your business back on track. Maybe you’re really interested in growing, but you feel like things for you are a little stuck right now? Or maybe you have only just started and you’re not really sure what to do to be able to grow? Either way, you can really turn things around and push for growth in a few simple ways. Let’s take a look at how.
Have An Idea
Whether you’ve been in business for years or you’re just starting, you need a smart idea to get started with. Whether you want to form a company or move on up to company status, click here to do that first. When you’ve got the right setup in place, you then need to move your idea forward. Whether it’s a new idea for a product launch or a change in the way that you provide your service, you should then sit down and work out what steps you need to take to get this off the ground.
Set Aside Budget
Next, you need to be comfortable with setting a budget. It’s really important for you to be able to work with some kind of investment – even if it’s a small amount. While growing your company organically is definitely an option, it can just take longer. So if you want to focus on more aggressive growth, you do need some advertising budget. Even if you can only spare $100 for now, it’s a start that you can then increase when you start to see results.
Choose Advertising Channels
When you’ve agreed on how much you can spend, you then need to work out which platforms to advertise on. To help you make a more informed decision, click here to discover what you need to know on social media advertising. You will want to make sure that you can work out which will be the most useful for your business.
Focusing On Engagement
Your next goal has to be engagement. You need to be able to connect with your audience if you want to grow your business. So just make sure that you’re thinking of ways to engage your customers with your content, and you should start to see results.
Rely On Data
Finally, you’re going to want to make sure that you have your Google Analytics hooked up and you’re proficient in it. Because when you want to grow, you really need to be able to rely on your data. You’ll want to have data that clearly indicates how things are going and how you’re growing. You also need data to make decisions on what’s working or what to change. The more you become reliant on data to make decisions, the smarter (and more successful) your growth will become too.
Becoming an entrepreneur can be both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. You become your own boss, you set your own hours, you call all the shots. You also bear the weight of generating your own income, selling a product or convincing other people that you have something they want and need.
According to statistics, about 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, and 50% fail after five years in business. So what makes the difference between someone who succeeds and someone who fails?
Many women mistakenly believe that they need business, programming, accounting or marketing skills or even a degree if they want to run their own business. But I’ve found this isn’t necessarily the case.
I’ve found that most powerful entrepreneurial women possess the following:
#1 Resilience
Many women go through several different ideas and business ventures before finally creating something profitable. Others have to work for months or even years before they start earning the income they want. Resilience to stress, failure and discouragement is paramount if you want to be a successful entrepreneur. Do you consider yourself resilient? Can you “bounce back” from tough experiences? Then you just might have what it takes.
#2 Self-Confidence
When you run your own business, you become the boss! Entrepreneurs need a healthy amount of self-confidence to navigate the ins and outs of running a company. Do you believe in yourself and what you have to offer? If you are not confident in yourself and your business, your clients, customers and employees are going to feel it. People are naturally drawn to confidence and passion.
#3 The Ability To Take Risks
Women who like to think outside the box, get excited at the thought of adventure, and who aren’t afraid of imperfection tend to do much better as business owners than those who like to live by the rules. Those who get easily stressed when things go awry have a hard time seeing the opportunities that may be present when things don’t go as planned. Are you willing to take risks and embrace the beauty of imperfection?
#4 Vision
Good entrepreneurs know how to create a powerful vision that gives them motivation and strength to overcome challenges. They see things in the world that could be better and are able to spin ideas and solutions that address problems. Instead of accepting life as it is or being satisfied with “normal” they want to push boundaries and make things better. They see opportunity everywhere they go!
#5 Strong Sense Of Responsibility
Successful women entrepreneurs have a strong sense of responsibility for their lives. They know they are the authors of their own story. They don’t make excuses for their failures instead, they accept and learn from their failures. They take ownership of their thoughts, emotions, reactions, mistakes and successes.
If any of these traits resonated with you, it’s likely you would make a good entrepreneur. If you feel you are lacking in any of these areas, don’t be discouraged! We are ever changing beings and can learn and evolve as much as we choose. While some people may be naturally gifted in these areas, anyone can acquire these powerful traits with commitment and action.
Before you became a business owner, you worked in an office five days a week and always wanted somebody to look out for you. You never felt as if you were being cared for and listened to as much as you had wanted. If you arefeeling lost in your biz it might be because your employees or staff members aren’t feeling valued enough. Their motivation levels are going to have a huge impact on the productivity of your entire business. This is why it is essential to look after them as well as you can. Whether you are a top boss of a firm, the owner of a small business or a manager in charge of a small team, you could easily be the workplace fairy godmother and make other people’s lives better. If this sounds like something you want to try, then it can be easily done using seven simple techniques. You should start by putting others before yourself and listening to people’s day to day problems. Sometimes all they need is calm, collected listening ear to make their issue feel heard. Check out these workplace fairy godmother methods and wave your magic wand for your colleagues now.
Have Your Employees Best Interests at Heart
Always seek out new ways to look after the physical and mental wellbeing of your employees. You should consider anemployee assist programme, whereby a confidential and compassionate support network is ready to help people every single day of the week, no matter what time it is. From cognitive behavioural therapy to legal advice, keep their best interests in mind at all times.
Always Listen When Someone is Speaking
No matter how busy you are or how silly somebody’s idea is, it is really important to show other people that you value what they have to say. It’s not about stroking egos or leading people on; it’s about common courtesy and making sure people have the chance to express their thoughts at work.
If you see somebody looking sad or sat on their own in the canteen at lunchtime, be the friend that everybody needs. Perhaps you have noticed somebody struggling with their workload or feeling isolated from the team; offer a helping hand and you might just make somebody’s day a whole lot easier.
Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness
If you can think of one random act of kindness to carry out every day, you will soon earn your crown as the office fairy godmother. Whether you make somebody a cup of tea when their day is full of meetings or you print out their agenda for the day to help them with a busy schedule. Small actions like this will never go unnoticed and you’ll feel great for doing it too!
Managing a large group of people can be pretty testing at times, but it is important to treat everyone as an individual in their own right. If you can make their lives easier in any way then try to make it happen if you can. It could be anything from an earlier finish on a Friday afternoon to a day off if their child is sick.
Always Be Open and Honest
There are many simple ways that you can be a good boss and one of these traits is honesty. In order to gain the trust of your workers you need to be open and transparent with them at all times. If you have some bad news to tell them, don’t hold it back from them. Honesty will always be the best policy.
Offer Progression Prospects To All
Make sure everybody who works for you knows what their future career path looks like. Be encouraging and supportive of every person who crosses your path and you will earn everybody’s respect instantly. Offer progression and developmental experiences for each member of staff and they will appreciate your efforts.
If you are responsible for several people in your workplace, then try to go above and beyond to make their working lives easier. Just a few simple acts of kindness and a handful of caring gestures could truly transform the entire atmosphere within your place of work. Try to be understanding, empathetic and professional at all times. Everybody will really appreciate the effort you are going to, to look out for their health and well-being. Be the fabulous fairy godmother of your office and you’ll be doing a good deed every single day.
If you’ve been in the entrepreneurial world for awhile, then you know it can be easy to feel a little lost sometimes.
Whether you’ve just sold a business and are wondering what to do next, or you’re neck deep in one of your big ideas, being an entrepreneur is a commitment to walking through unknown territory.
What should we do when we feel lost?
I’ve been running my own business for many years now and here are a few things I’ve learned along the road.
You Are You Even Without A Plan
When you have a plan and a path to walk down, you likely feel more confident and self assured. When you are in the “grey area” of not knowing what’s next, that is when you can feel lost or insecure about who you are. But it is important to remember that regardless of the situation you are standing in, you are still you. Whether you just sold a million dollar business or are staring at bankruptcy, your value and worth as an individual are still the same. You are still you, even when you’re “lost”.
The People Around You Validate Or Invalidate Your Identity
Whether we like it or not, the people we spend the most time with are constantly validating or invalidating our identities. It is important to spend time with people who believe in you, who help you be your best, who push you to higher ground and still think you’re amazing even when you are feeling small and unsure. Do you feel supported, respected and loved by the people you spend time with? Do they help to inspire and uplift you?
Look Back On Times When You Felt Confident, Passionate & With Direction
Take some time to reflect on your past and find time periods where you felt driven, confident, passionate and with direction. The things that were going on are not necessarily important, but I want you to remember how you felt during these times in your life. Why did you feel the way you did? What brought the feelings of fulfillment and drive? How can you step back into that version of yourself?
Who Do You Want To Become?
Focus on who it is you want to become. You’ve likely already been on quite the journey in your life. Who do you want to become now? Rather on focusing on what you want to do (which you may or may not know) focus on WHO you want to BE. Then take the road that will lead you there.
All these steps will help you create a new mental model that will move you forward into the next stage of your business and life.
According toHuffington Post, the number of women entrepreneurs in the United States increased by double that of their male counterparts from 2015-2016.Women own over 11.3 million of the businesses in America, and statistics show that not only do women make great business owners, but their companies often perform twice as well as those run by men.
BOOM!
Now more than ever women feel empowered to step up and into the role of entrepreneur, making the scary leap of working under a corporate umbrella to making their own rules and running their own companies.
Even though it’s an exciting time to be building your own business, it’s still not easy. There are lots of things trying to get people’s attention nowadays, and to stand out you have to be willing to roll up your sleeves, be constantly learning and willing to evolve.
As an entrepreneur myself, I’ve learned a lot about what can make or break one’s career as an entrepreneur! I wanted to share some of my top tips with you today.
Here are a few strategies to help increase your chances for success and profitability in the women’s business world:
#1 Focus on Your Dream Client vs A Demographic
Old advice would say to focus on a specific demographic (i.e. women over 40). But this is not effective. You want to think about WHO your dream client is and why she needs you. For example, your dream client may be a woman over 40 who is feeling burnt out in her career, tired of climbing the corporate ladder, who wants more time and freedom to focus on doing what she loves. She isn’t afraid of taking risks and she is motivated and driven to reach her goals. Get specific and speak directly to HER. In your content, ads, product labels, opt-ins, sales copy, etc. talk pointedly to this type of client. If you do this and do it well, your dream clients will listen and take actions.
#2 Spend Wisely & Build Capital
Nothing kills a business faster than no money. You can have the most incredible product or service on the market but if you are in debt or are under-capitalized, you won’t be able to create the impact of growth you need to truly succeed and become profitable. Always have a “cushion” for when things don’t go as planned. Budget for your business and your personal life so that one or two bad months don’t crush you. This is a great area to hire experts or mentors to help guide you!
#3 Prioritize Quality Over Speed
The first several months to a year of building your business you are faced with decisions that can either lead you to success or hinder your progress significantly. An estimated 75% of startups fail; generally because they run out of money, try to grow too quickly, hire the wrong people, lack proper marketing or don’t take the time to build something high quality. It can be tempting to take off at full speed and build out a team and rush to “the finish line” but this will likely end your business in flames. Build slowly, hire the right people, stay financially on course and be patient. Entrepreneurship is not a “get rich quick” scheme!
Being a business owner can be an incredibly fulfilling experience. Take the time to do it right and don’t be afraid to ask for help or mentorship so that you have the best chance for success.
This is a no cost to you event full of powerful women entrepreneurs who have walked the path of creating, launching and successfully running a business! Join me as we listen to advice and strategies from the best of the best.
Do you have a strong welcome series for new people on your email list?
First impressions in the marketing industry are huge- and if yours doesn’t go well, if can be hard if not impossible to come back from!
A high-quality welcome series for new leads is vital to:
Creating a positive first impression
Motivating your readers to keep opening what you send
Building a solid foundation for future sales.
Your leads likely come from opt-ins where you give away something your target audience wants. People give you their email not because they WANT to subscribe to your list necessarily, but because they want your opt in.
Your job then becomes to convince them that your company ROCKS and that they should be excited every time one of your emails pops into their inbox!
How can you do this effectively? Here are a few tips:
#1 The Welcome Email
In your welcome email you give your new reader access to the opt-in they wanted. This may seem like a simple task, but remember, this is your FIRST IMPRESSION of your company! According to data fromExperian, the average open rate for welcome emails is 58%. That’s probably the highest open rate you’ll ever have for any one email!
You want to personalize the email by:
Addressing the reader by their name
Including your photo and signature
Making it obvious and easy to find support/help if needed (even advertising a free consultation, if that’s something you do)
Adding some personality to the text- it should read like a letter from a friend, not a textbook
Ensuring your opt-in is exactly what they were hoping for and MORE
Over-delivering
Psychologically, people want to know you are competent and have good intentions. If they feel like you underdeliver, are unprofessional, sound fake or like you just want their money, they will likely unsubscribe immediately OR never open one of your emails again.
Tip:At the end of your welcome email, include a “curiosity loop” in the P.S.! This is a teaser that gets them excited about your next email.
#2 Provide A Quick Win
At the end of your welcome email you should have ended with a promise/teaser about what would be in this email. Give them what they want right away (i.e. Just as promised, here is the WXYZ).
I recommend giving something that will provide them a “quick win” that they can use immediately to help improve one of their pain points.
For example:
How To Find Your Target Audience For FREE
The Secret To Attracting A High-Quality Man
DIY Toxic Free Cleaning Products That Won’t Cost You A Dime
5 Strategies To Find New Clients In 24 Hours
Don’t worry about a fancy CTA in this email- your focus should be on GIVING them tons of value without asking anything in return.
#3 Create Emotional Connection & Relate To Your Audience
The third email is all about YOU and your brand and how your relate to your audience. In this email, consider all the following points:
Why should your reader care about you?
How do you relate to them?
Why should they LISTEN to you?
What problems did your reader sign up to solve, and how are you the answer to those problems?
Get vulnerable and real with them. Create a vision in their mind of your brand and purpose. The more you can relate to them, the more they will trust you. Go deep into their pain points by expressing how you once experienced them too. Then show that you overcame them and can help them do the same.
This email might end with a CTA inviting them to sign up for a call with you or start one of your programs. You should also invite them to follow you on social media, sign up for a free Facebook group or become a part of your community.
#4 Surprise With More Value
Remember, you will build trust and a favorable impression as you continue to overdeliver. In your final welcome-series email, provide more value for your reader. Point them to your most popular blog posts, give them a free PDF download, show them your favorite resources, etc. Basically, give them free stuff that they want and need!
You can also include a time-sensitive CTA in this email. Encourage them to sign up for a call with you (and emphasize that spots are limited) or offer them an exclusive deal only for new readers. You can also include some testimonials or success stories in this email.
How Far Apart Should These Emails Be?
Your audience will be themost engagedduring your welcome series because you are new and exciting. Stay on the top of their mind by sending them 1 email each day. After your welcome series is over, I recommend sending 1 email to your list on the same day every week.
Need help setting up a killer welcome series? I have some effective email templates that I would be happy to share with you! For access to them or for any other related questions, claim aspot on my calendar here.
