Had a pretty exciting week. Friday last week, I was on a call with the founder and CEO of an organic, nutrient-rich, cold-pressed juice company in the US, and their business launch is happening soon.
And why am I telling you about this?
Yes, you guessed it. I joined their team on Monday!
While preparing my independent contractor’s agreement, I got to thinking. What can I do to help their business launch a success?
And so I came up with a list of things a business owner should consider when launching a business and decided to blog about it.
A business launch can both be exciting and challenging. Getting started means the possibilities are endless. You have nowhere to go but forward. And opportunities abound.
On the flip side, because it’s new, most of the things you need to do and attend to are possibly overwhelming to you. So many tasks, so little time. And If you spread yourself too thin, you risk getting nothing done and not meeting your goals.
You probably have a lot on your mind and aren’t sure where to give the most time and attention. The following ideas will help you identify what you should be focusing on as you launch your business. Make these items a priority, and you’ll be on your way to creating a long-lasting and successful business that you can be proud of.
Hiring A Team
That CEO of what’s to be America’s favorite juice did the right thing right the first time. He sent me an email and asked if we could talk. And we did. So now he’s taken the most important step to success. He’s taken in some help.
You may be the boss and the person with all the ideas, but you can’t possibly have the time to do all the work yourself. Instead, you can opt to hire a team of professionals who can help you execute your business plan. Hiring mistakes can be costly, so make sure you do your homework and only make offers to people who you feel are the right fit. Set expectations early on and schedule performance reviews so you can track your staff’s progress.
Attracting Customers
Have you done your homework in identifying your target market? How are you going to attract your ideal customers?
It would help if you can be ready with a marketing plan. Build a strategy that includes elements such as having a blog and running paid advertisement campaigns. If you need help creating and distributing these ads, you can learn more about setting yourself up for success in this area. There’s a lot of noise to cut through, so you need to get creative and ensure you’re spending your marketing dollars wisely.
Your Competitors
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
It’s the same thing in business. Know your customers, but know your competitors better.
Know what your competitors are up to. What strategies are working for them? How? Why? Find out where they’re falling short, so you can step in and fill in the gaps in these areas. Study them so you know what you’re up against and what products or services you should be working on and developing next.
Future Growth
When you’re starting, there’s nowhere to go but up and forward. Keep your eyes on the prize. Growth is inevitable, so plan ahead. Be ready to expand.
I just finished an online course on Business Continuity Planning, and it was awesome. It reinforced my belief that we should always have a plan. Coz when we do, we are not just preparing for growth. We are also preparing for business setbacks, like a pandemic, for example.
Having a solid plan will allow you to make adjustments to your course of action. Educate yourself on what to consider when planning a business expansion, so you’re ready when the time comes to move forward or pivot your business.
Conclusion
Launching a business can be tough and it will require a lot of your time and energy. However, if you do your due diligence preparing for it, it’s going to be a walk in the park. Have a solid plan, then get some A-rated help. Know that you’ll make mistakes along the way but instead of dwelling on them use these setbacks as learning opportunities and keep powering forward with optimism.
Public relations, or what is more commonly referred to as PR, is a persuasion business. Having a good one is what you, as a business owner, should aim to maintain so people will buy your products or services. So you and your product will stay top of mind for consumers.
But what does good public relations entail? What do you need to do?
The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.
If you want your business to grow, then consider maintaining good PR as an essential part of your business. From the small online sellers that sprouted during this pandemic, to the big, established businesses that are trying to survive the economic downturn, good, if not excellent PR, is a necessity.
If you are a small business and are just starting, gaining visibility through multiple social media platforms might be enough. Partnering with bloggers who can create a story and make people follow that story might just work.
But if you are already a established business, and you are neck deep in competition with other big businesses, this is not enough.
Working with a Knowledgeable PR & Branding Agency
PR professionals generate positive publicity for their clients. They keep the public abreast of the activities that your company is doing. They write speeches, they write and distribute press releases, they conduct market research, and they craft responses to negative opinions about your product or business online.
What you need to keep in mind is that PR is different from advertising. While advertising will tell the public to “buy this product,” public relations will say “this product is important.” Advertising builds exposure. PR builds trust. While ads are mostly visual, PR uses language. And if what I’m saying is confusing to you, I’d say, collaborate with a PR & branding company that specializes in your business area because they know what they’re doing.
There is a PR company for every niche. So let’s say you are a law firm. When your law firm collaborates with a company like Elite Lawyer Management, for example, you will benefit from the national media outlets they already have relationships with. They can get your law firm’s name in front of a bigger audience. They can also help you with content marketing to help you promote your organization widely and effectively.
Collaborating with professionals who are experts in the public relations niche allows you to concentrate on what you do the best: running your business. It also takes away the high cost of having to do trial and error, and the stress that comes with it.
Gaining Credibility
One the things that a good public relations firm will do for you is establish your credibility. There are two sides to public relations: the story-telling side, and the damage-control side.
The storytelling side cultivates a story that establishes your reputation as a business. They tell a story about your ideas, your products, your projects, your accomplishments. Then they reach out to established news outlets that will feature these stories about you. This will help attract customers to do business with you.
This storytelling aims to show the human side of your brand through PR materials. Sharing the story behind your company’s founder, for example, can build an emotional connection with your audience. Sharing customer reviews can elicit a similar response and build a loyal client base.
The damage control side aims to mitigate any damage to your business’ reputation. Unintentionally releasing a bad product, for example, can damage your company’s reputation beyond repair. PR professionals come in to craft an actionable plan to mitigate the damage. Recall the products. Issue press releases that would inform the public not to buy any more of those bad products. Let the public know what the company is doing to make the products good again. These are actions that cannot be addressed by advertising.
Building Awareness for Your Product or Service
The storytelling side of PR also aims to build awareness of your company and your product or service. Let’s say you have a complex product or service. The PR professionals working with you can break down the complexities and make it easier for the public to understand.
There is what we call social media, and traditional media.
Traditional media is the likes of the New York Times, or the Huffington Post. Social media is Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You cannot post a press release on social media. It will be too boring.
PR professionals can take this press release apart and make it an announcement with just 140 characters for Twitter; create a captivating graphic for Instagram and Pinterest; or create a video explainer for Facebook and YouTube.
Easier, Yes, But It Still Takes Time
While it is indeed easier to just work with a reputable PR firm, it will still take time to reap results. Success does not happen overnight, even for the biggest companies out there.
Over time, though, you can expect to see results as your business starts to become a household name and stand apart from your competitors. Growing your business will be a walk in the park once you’ve leveraged the use of good great public relations.
Business expansion? Am I crazy to be writing about a business expansion when COVID is still here, no vaccine in sight, offices are still closed, and businesses are closing down?
Well, maybe not. At least, not everyone is closing up shop at this time, right? Some are just starting. In fact, some businesses just opened up in response to the demand that the pandemic brought in.
So let’s say you have a business that you have been running from home. And that you are still going strong amidst the present challenges. It may be smart to look at the opportunities that opened up during quarantine and plan to scale up for when we ease into the new normal.
Business expansion can be done in several ways. You can maybe expand your service or product offering, expand to a new target market, expand to new locations, or even expand globally by going online. That is if you are not doing it yet.
Here’s a tip: Look at the influx of informal online sellers. Check out what they’re offering, and go from there.
If you are seriously thinking about a business expansion, consider the following:
Know who your next customers are
You have to know who will avail of your services or products next. Are your new offerings things that they would need or want? Can they afford them? Where are these people located? Do they shop online? Or do they prefer a brick and mortar store?
You would also want to identify other demographics of your new target market like age, gender, marital status, income, ethnicity, and occupation, to name a few. Be ready to adapt to how your customers react to stimulus so you know what type of advertising you’ll put in place. Be prepared to be flexible and tweak strategies based on how your new target market responds.
Hiring additional manpower
If you are expanding your business, there’s a fair chance that you won’t be able to stay at the same level of logistics that you have presently in place. You might have a small team already or may already be outsourcing. But you may need more, especially if you are branching out to different areas. Or maybe you’ll be offering a new service that will need a different skill level from people that you already have on board.
When time is short and money is tight, it can be difficult to train people up for what you want to do. Maybe you could even hire someone else to do the training for you, so you can focus on working on the strategies for your business expansion. For example, ELMO onboarding can help your new employees to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills they need for your business. This is another level of outsourcing, but it offers tremendous help for your business.
Being consistent
So you expand your business. You add more products. More services. You acquire a new customer base. You implement new processes to keep up with the change.
Do you just forget your old products? Ignore that old customer base? Let go of the old processes?
Of course not!
The key is consistency. You have to maintain the same level of service you provide to your existing customer, if not better. You have to continue to improve on your existing products and services. You have to keep the processes that worked and helped you get to where you are. Be consistent with your message. Be consistent with your brand.
Remember, you won’t even be in a place where you are able to expand your business without your existing products and services. You have your existing customer base to thank for your ability to grow your business. And you can always upsell to your existing customers.
And there you have it. I hope you find this helpful.
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to remain calm and not panic.
Today is our 27th day of enhanced community quarantine. I have not been outside of our yard since March 17. Only my husband is allowed to leave the house to buy food and other essential items. He can’t leave the house without his quarantine pass and mask. He’s only allowed to go to the public market on Tuesdays and Fridays, from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon. Lately, he’s been avoiding going to the public market, because even though we are strictly observing social distancing, some people are not.
We have been told by the authorities to stay in our homes in order to prevent the spread of the virus, but that does not mean that we should go crazy inside. To prevent panic, try to limit how much news you watch. Personally, I avoid fake news and the overhyped reporting that only propagates fear and anxiety. Get updates from reliable sources, and do not be that person who shares fake news. Take some time to verify what you’re sharing before hitting the share button. Google is free to use.
Avoiding contact with other people and washing your hands and staying home are things that you can do by disciplining yourself, but your ability to remain calm comes from within. That means you’ll have to take the necessary steps in reducing your stress and anxiety and promoting calmness while the virus runs its course.
Here are three of the best ways that you can stay calm and centered in times of COVID-19 panic!
Meditation & Mindfulness
So, you’re anxious and stressed as a result of the rapid spread of the virus. If you’ve never attempted meditation or any mindfulness techniques in the past, this is the perfect time to try them out and get some practice under your belt.
According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation can play a huge role in helping you maintain your mental and emotional health, even benefiting aspects of your physical health. Here’s what meditation can do for you.
Greater outlook on life (positivity)
Increased feelings of calmness
Greater self-awareness
Reduced levels of anxiety and stress
Improved focus
It’s no secret that I work for a guy in the health and wellness space. Not too long ago, I was given the opportunity to take a course called the Ziva Technique. And yes, I learned a lot in those two weeks, but my greatest takeaway is that now I know how to manage stress.
Emily Fletcher, the founder of Ziva Meditation, wrote a guest post for Ben Greenfield Fitness, and I highly recommend that you read that post. She also has a book called Stress Less, Accomplish More, which is available on Kindle, so you can easily get a hold of it.
Finding a Creative Outlet
This is a great time to try out some new (or old) creative hobbies. When you’re focused on building or creating something new, you’re reducing the amount of focus on the negativity surrounding you.
A creative outlet can be almost anything. Here are a few things
you might want to try out (if you have the supplies in your home).
Crocheting – of course, this is the first I would say!
Knitting
Embroidery
Crafting
Painting, coloring, or drawing
Singing or playing musical instruments
Taking photos or videos of things you enjoy
Building something with things lying around the house
Writing
Puzzles
Reading something and then writing an essay about it (yes, remember English 101 class?). This is a great way to take your mind off the world’s troubles.
I think everybody knows by now that I love crochet just as much as I love being a virtual assistant. In fact, I have created an opportunity for me during this COVID-19 pandemic to create and sell crocheted face masks. And I’ve even recorded a video of me playing the ukulele while singing It’s a Wonderful World.
Basically, the goal here is to find an activity or task that requires focus and makes you happy. You’ll never notice the passage of time when you’re having fun.
And if you don’t have a creative bone in your body, how about doing your spring cleaning?
Giving Back & Helping Others
Due to the enhanced community quarantine, what we can do to help others are limited. But we still can. Even if we do not belong to the essential work force.
The call for protective face shields, for example. I know at least a couple of crafters who participated in this drive. Too bad I don’t have acetate and foam to use, or I would have made some, too.
Fortunately, I was still able to do something, however little.
I joined the drive for crocheting ear savers for our frontliners. A friend in the crochet community posted a pattern and a call for crocheters to volunteer. All we need are buttons and lots of yarns. A have a few of the former, and lots of the latter. So I posted on my Facebook wall that I’m going to make those ear savers. A few hours after I posted, a barangay councilor messaged me that they want those ear savers. The following day, the Rotaract president of our town also requested some for the Municipal Health Office, and he sent me buttons!
As of this writing, I have made around 50 ear savers, and I will continue to make them for as long as there is a need. I signed up with this group, Earsavers for Lifesavers. Do check out the page and see if you would like to volunteer in any capacity.
Final Thoughts
There’s really nothing we can do to cure or stop the spread of COVID-19 (except maybe by strictly following the enhanced community quarantine rules), but by being mindful and creative, we can stay calm and centered.
And we can take this opportunity to find ways we can serve and give back to our community, however little the help may be.
Last year, I wrote about how you can start a successful career as a freelancer. If you have not read that yet and you are interested in becoming a rockstar freelancer, then you should read that one first before reading this post. 🙂
Freelancing allows you to do many things. If you’re an artist, then it is a great way to build an impressive portfolio. If you are skilled in multiple niches, then It helps you narrow them down to the ones you love best doing, then refine and improve your skills in your chosen niche. Freelancing also helps you get your foot in the industry or niche of your choice, and it can help you make a name for yourself as a business owner.
And the best part… It allows you to call the shots – work when you want, where you want, with whoever you want, at the price that you want.
If you are already a freelancer, the next thing you want to know is how to rock it. And today,I have a few quick tips on how you can become a rockstar freelancer.
Always Do Your Research
Research is key. Doing user research so you can understand the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the people who are likely to use your product or service will greatly help you serve your clients best. This will help identify their pain points, and enable you to offer them solutions.
You should also research on the tools that are best to use for your niche. Research on what other rockstar freelancers use. Find out what are the best practices. Get to know the best platforms to use to manage your projects. This list goes on, but the operative word is research. Even if you’re already a freelancer, you can never rest on your laurels. You can never say you know everything. There’s always a new tool to use, some new skills to learn, and some new platforms to try. If before there was just Trello and Basecamp and Asana, now there’s AirTable, Mondays and AdminJa. Don’t stop with what you know. Keep abreast of what technology can offer you.
And while I don’t recommend competing for price, it also helps to know what other freelancers are charging. You don’t have to charge what they charge, but if you’re just starting out, it’s good to have an idea of what’s the industry standard.
If you’re struggling to find a client, then maybe the niche is already saturated. Knowing how much competition you have will help you decide whether or not to stick to your chosen niche, or you can find out how you can offer value-added services to your existing package. Again, you can address this by doing research.
Take Your Time
Another tip that doesn’t get mentioned often is the need to take your time.
So you’ve done your research. You’ve found out what’s happening in the industry, found out the best tools and the best platforms.
Next thing you have to do is take time to learn those tools and platforms. Learn them and compare them with what you’re already using. Will it be beneficial to switch? Or are the ones you’re using serving you well?
Take time to build your profile, too. Don’t rush things. Say you are a creative freelancer and you have a huge portfolio. Take time to evaluate your work and select the best ones to include in your website. Better to have just 10 of your best work than have hundreds of mediocre pieces on display.
Taking your time with your tasks is also important. I don’t mean to suggest that you should dilly-dally with your tasks. What I mean is to take time to understand the process and what the desired result is, so that you get it right the first time. Don’t aim for a quick finish. Aim for an efficient one. Delivering an error-free project will score you great points, whatever your freelance skill is. In addition, if you keep getting things done right consistently, you are sure to earn a very positive reputation in the industry and people will be more likely to hire you or refer you to their contacts.
Understand The Client
A rockstar freelancer is also at least one step ahead of the client, and that is possible when you fully understand the client’s goals, their pain points, and their personal preferences.
Here’s the thing… A freelancer is not an employee. A freelancer is, in a way, a business partner of the client. Understanding your client empowers you to be proactive and to take initiatives. This also reduces the number of times you have to ask questions. Say you are a freelancer specializing in travel management. Take the initiative to know your client’s preferences when traveling. Preferred departure times, arrival times, window or aisle seats, coach, business or first class, need wifi connection, passports updated, frequent flyer accounts? Get all these data the first time your client asks you to book them for travel and file them away in a safe place for your easy reference next time.
Making the effort to understand your client on Day 1 will not only make your life easier. It will also allow you to accomplish your tasks with the least back and forth with your client. And aren’t you there to save your client precious time, so they can focus on strategies and not dwell on the mundane? So yes, save your client some time. They will love you for it.
Keep Your Work Consistent
Consistent work should be more of a set default for you rather than something you are told to do. Consistent work shows you are committed to your work, commitment shows confidence, confidence shows you know what you need to do and that earns you the client’s trust. Consistency in work is good to have, but consistency in quality is a must-have.
If you do a really great job with a client, they then go and tell their tribe. Members of that tribe can become your clients, too.
What happens if you’re not consistent?
You get more clients because you’ve been referred by a happy client, But then you deliver an inferior performance for the new client. Of course, the new client will be unhappy. And guess what? One bad review can cancel out whatever good reviews you’ve had in the past.
Sell Yourself
What does this mean?
As a freelancer, I highly doubt if you’ll ever have a marketing budget. Most freelancers I know don’t even have personal branding. So let’s say you are among those who missed the memo on the importance of branding… what do you do?
You only have your skills and your experience to bring to the table. You have no products to sell. Just yourself. So make sure you package yourself well. Polish your about page on your website. If you don’t have a website, at least have an account on LinkedIn. Be visible on social media, but be very careful on what you post. Be the person that you want your client to be working with. Be the consummate professional.
Being a freelancer can be scary sometimes, but it really isn’t that hard to rock it. Try to practice the quick tips I mentioned above, add in a dash of determination, a pinch of perseverance and whole lot of hard work and you’ll be on the road to rockstardom,
Remember, the word freelancing starts with free. It’s the freedom to do what you love, and being paid while doing it.
I’ve been a small business owner since 2006. I poured my heart into launching my virtual assistance service from a small computer table in our living room, right beside my baby’s crib. I had my share of sleepless nights when clients gave me tight deadlines. I sacrificed weekends and holidays for more billable hours. I scoured the internet for free courses so I could learn other skills. I brought my work with me to soccer practice, doctor’s appointments, piano lessons, and answered emails on my phone while queueing to pay at the grocery.
All these things I did because I was committed. Committed to deliver the service I promised, and more.
But what I learned over the years is that appearances can also contribute to the success or failure of any venture, especially when you’re just starting out in the business, in whatever industry you choose. More so if you’re a freelancer. More often than not, people think that creating an account on a third-party platform or submitting resumes is enough to win clients. And then those who actually think about creating a cyber presence simply take advantage of free websites or informal email addresses. But if you want to be taken seriously, you will need a more professional presence. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression.
So how do you make sure that your business is reaching your ideal clients?
Brand Your Business
There’s one quality that every major brand has in common, no matter the sector in which they operate. From Chanel to Coca Cola – the secret is consistency. These companies have all developed the power of their brand, starting with articulating a vision and values for what they do, all the way down to considering a tone of voice for their communications and a logo which conveys what they stand for. Small businesses and solopreneurs can also benefit from this approach. Establishing a brand can give you a story and a way to compete that isn’t about price alone. Developing a professional-looking logo is easy these days, and with tools like Templafy you can create a suite of materials to give a professional and consistent approach to any of the documents that you or your team need.
Build Your Website, or Do a Makeover
Your business website is your shop window to the world, and the first port of call for customers, business partners, investors and suppliers. So it makes sense to ensure that it looks brilliant and works smoothly. Work with a web designer or work with a customizable premium template to set up something based around functional design, which meets web accessibility standards and makes information easy to find, while also meeting SEO requirements. Build up quality content that enriches the user experience and positions you as a thought leader. Outline your terms of service and your contact details and give clear calls to action throughout.
Suss Out Your Social Media
Social channels are vital and highly effective ways for small businesses to find new clients, advertise their services and showcase what they do – in fact, if used correctly, they may be the only form of advertising that you need. So spend some time learning what channels your audience uses, conduct some social listening to find out what topics and concerns they have, and create a list of the most relevant hashtags in your area. You can then focus on making some good quality content to point people to on your site – think genuinely helpful information, not a transparent sales pitch.
In summary, if you have a small business and are still building a client base, you need to establish your brand, build a website and create great content that you can share on social media platforms that your ideal clients use.
