Ask the Experts: Branding Your Company Vs. Branding YOU
Written by Liz King
Malla and I share all the advice we can on this blog, but there are many areas of the 9to5 Entrepreneur balance we still haven't figured out. That's where the support of the community comes in. Today - our question goes to you and we'd love to have your thoughts and input in the comments section. This blog is all about supporting one another so perhaps you can help me solve my problem today!
When you are working full-time for a company and running your own business, how do you brand yourself? What business card do you give out at networking events? What email addresses do you use? How do you keep the worlds separate without losing out on branding opportunities for your business?
Got a question you'd like answered? Email it today!
Are you good at Sales?
Written by Malla Haridat
I read an article recently on Inc.com magazine where the author, (one of the co-founders of 37signals) recommended that all entrepreneurs learn how to sell. He suggested finding a needed product to sell on Craigslist or Ebay - and repeat the process again and again. Not for the income - or lack thereof, but to learn how to sell.
I can often tell how little experience the business owner has in a business plan when they start sharing all of their research and advertising dollars - but don’t spend time on how long they expect before they convert them to sales or walk through their sales process. How many “eyeballs” do you need to read your marketing before they buy your product? Probably a lot more than you think.
Do you have experience copy writing? Do you have experience writing catchy headlines on social media? Do you understand why and when customers buy?
I remember in my early selling days when I went door to door with Girl Scout cookies - I learned to put on my uniform and wait until 6 or 7pm before I rang doorbells. Seems simple but I always got more sales.
What’s the conversion rate of people seeing your ad vs. buying the product? Have you spent time testing out your product? I recommend to people all the time to rent a booth at a well traveled flea market for a weekend and learn how customers make decisions ...by selling something. You can learn a ton about how to market.
So don’t spend all of your time on the projections. Get out there and start selling. Some part of your product or service. Or start with some commodity that you know people want and learn the fine art of sales.
Everyone Needs a Mentor and Coach
Written by Liz King
When you encounter a challenge in your business, who do you go to? Who is there for you to discuss strategies for taking your business to the next level? For many 9to5 Entrepreneurs, we're too busy taking care of the day-to-day, we forget that the only way to grow a business is to plan and strategize. And many of us don't have the tools we need to do that effectively.
Before I started my business, I received the very smart advice to link up with a mentor. This is something that can be done at any point in your career, but came at a really critical time for me. My mentor has shown me the ropes and help me think about the big picture and I really don't think I would be where I am today without her.
A HUGE thanks to my mentor and an encouragement to you that you need at least one person in your life who is more experienced and successful than you to guide you down the right path. You also need someone to set you straight when you're going down the wrong one.
Do you work with a mentor now? If so, what has your experience been? We need some encouraging stories for those who haven't yet tried it out.
Photo by JMRosenfeld
Is your marketing message simple?
Written by Malla Haridat
I was on my commute home yesterday when a man entered the train yelling, "Movies here, Movies, here, Get your Movies here". Initially I was completely annoyed and irritated as it was a long day at work and I wanted peace and quiet on my ride home. However, I had to stop for a minute at the effectiveness of his marketing message. He was able to share the value of his business within one line. Anyone within earshot could easily determine if they were interested as a potential customer.
While I don't want to market my services by yelling in the street to all, I thought this example provided a good test to see if my marketing message is clear. Sometimes simple works best. Far too often, I think many business owners get caught up in fancy names, processes, techniques and miss out on the importance that this vendor clearly got - give them what they want and make it easy for them to understand.
Take a moment and think about your introduction when you share what your business provides. Can you add some "simplicity" to your message?
Social Tool Review: Boomerang
Written by Liz King
For those of you trying to achieve the zero inbox, I have found a wonderful tool! Boomerang is an add-on for Firefox and Chrome browsers that allows you to a do a few amazing things.
Writing an email that you don't need to go out quite yet? Or working with a group of people and you need to remind them of something in 2 weeks? Boomerang allows you to schedule that email to go out another time. You can have it send "tomorrow", "in 30 minutes" or for a very specific date and time. I wouldn't encourage you to use this tool too often, but it can be good in a clutch.
The one potential downside of the zero inbox is that when you respond to an email message, you consider it "done" and then archive the message to get it out of your inbox. Since you've taken the required action, it allows you to focus on the other things that need your attention. In some cases, that person never responds to you and it's easy to lose track of those items. Using Boomerang, you can archive it and have this add-on bring it back to your inbox in X number of days if you still haven't heard back! Huge win for us zero inboxers!
Take 10 when you have no time
Written by Malla Haridat
"Eek! I have no time!" It's a common thought among 9to5entrepreneurs. Between work, your family, your social life and your business, things can get hectic.
So what tends to happen? You put things off. I know. I'm guilty of it myself. And what tends to happen is that I put off spending time with my business because the other areas have such tight deadlines and pressing matters. That is until I figured out that 10 min can make a difference.
Last night, I came home from work exhausted and I had to be at work early today as we were hosting a 8am networking breakfast so there wasn't a lot of time available for me to spend on my business - namely the updates I need to do on my website.
Rather than bypassing it altogether, I looked over my list of things to do and picked one item that I knew would take me 10 min. Writing content for a new section. No time for rewrites. No time for editing. No time to find additional research. I just wrote down my ideas and closed the computer after 10 min.
Happily when I sit down to write again, I won't have to spend time brainstorming. And while it only helped me complete one task..that's 10 min less that I'll have to spend when I look at everything again.
I've found this strategy to be very helpful. It's the age old answer to "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time".
Are you taking your one bite today? Challenge yourself to take 10!
Ask the Experts: Balancing Client Meetings
Written by Liz King
Malla and I share all the advice we can on this blog, but there are many areas of the 9to5 Entrepreneur balance we still haven't figured out. That's where the support of the community comes in. Today - our question goes to you and we'd love to have your thoughts and input in the comments section. This blog is all about supporting one another so perhaps you can help me solve my problem today!
When you start a company, balancing it with your 9to5 can be done in the evenings and weekends. However, as it grows, client meetings creep into the daytime hours more and more. How do you balance your client meetings while still devoting your time to your 9to5 and performing as well as you can?
Got a question you'd like answered? Email it today!
It’s time to retire old school event promotions
Written by Malla Haridat
A friend invited me recently to a networking event at his job and asked me to forward the event info to several friends. I was more than happy to forward it along...Until I looked at the attachment.
It was a JPG. Ughhh!!
Immediately I thought what I would need to do to convert this into my calendar and share via Facebook, LinkedIn and a random email list I have. I put it in on the back burner and got busy on several other projects.
While I compliment the organization on their fabulously designed flyer, it was really a waste of time when it came to promoting the event electronically. I'm not a tech snob ..but who has time to cut and paste...or rather type from scratch this info..and then think to send it along? (And I almost forgot! But I value my friendship!!)
So let me recommend that you use online registration tools in addition to your fancy formatted print materials. It's all about sharing with our respective communities - and the easier you make it to share - the better you'll be able to get the word out.
One caveat - make sure the info you share is relevant and interesting to the recipient. Just because you get good at electronic promotions doesn't mean that you should send everything to everyone. It's got to be a win-win for both parties.
Photo by Dullhunk
Master The Art of Productive Flying
Written by Liz King
With businesses becoming increasingly global, many people find themselves traveling more frequently. For many people, the flight to your destination is often considered down time – an opportunity to sleep or catch up on meetings. While this is okay (and often good for work/life balance), there are ways to use that time to your advantage.
Many airlines now offer in-flight wireless. For a small fee, you can connect to the internet with just your credit card information. It’s a great option, but I would suggest you set a plan of action before logging on. What can you do that will make you feel accomplished at the end of the flight? One great thing to do is focus on your email. Work your way through the filing to bring your inbox down to zero.
If you aren’t interested in spending the money on in-flight wireless, consider what you can do offline. I often write blog posts in Word and then schedule them in WordPress later. Sometimes I use the time to design some buttons for my website in Photoshop. Other times, I catch up on reading my industry magazines.
Whatever you choose to do, think ahead about the amount of time you have in the air and what you might accomplish during that time. By the time you land, you’ll be ready to enjoy your destination!
Photo by Freakland
Today’s Mishap – Entrepreneurs Missing the Target & Creating Companies THEY Want Rather Than What Their Customer NEEDS
Written by Malla Haridat
It’s easy to get wants and needs mixed up. You LOVE the product or service that your business offers and you’ve been told by everyone to start a business you are passionate about. But does your customer (future or current) feel the same passion you do?
Let me share two examples:
Example 1: A start-up entrepreneur is interested in the personal training industry. She gets certified, joins a gym as a coach and begins to tell everyone within walking distance why they need to use her service.
Example 2: Another start-up trainer spends time and money learning about diabetes and how it can be prevented/reduced through particular types of fitness programs. The trainer takes advanced courses and teams up with a local wellness clinic to market.
Which one do you think will have a greater chance for success?
If nothing else I can tell you which one will have an easier time marketing and could probably charge more for their services because they are customized. They will have to spend less time and money finding their target market and they will probably gain a loyal following as they become more well known in their market.
Far too often entrepreneurs look at their interests, loves, passions and desires, but they don’t think about what will best serve the client.
So consider these ideas:
- Do I have a specific target group that needs my services?
- Why do they need them? What is their motivation?
- When will they need to buy it? (If you answer all the time - you have more research to complete!)
- Where can I easily find my target group? (If you think they are everywhere - you need to hone in closer on a smaller group)
This is not always an easy activity. Motivations are often not apparent until you’ve learned your target group better.
But if you spend the time and answer the above questions, you’re likely to get a better outcome in your business.
Photo by SantaRosa OLD SKOOL
Popular Posts
- It's time to retire old school event promotions 0 comment(s) | by | posted on April 27, 2011
- Why Your Business Needs a Mission and Vision Statement 2 comment(s) | by | posted on April 11, 2011
- Calculate Cost Per Task 2 comment(s) | by | posted on April 18, 2011
- The Power of an Empty Inbox 2 comment(s) | by | posted on March 18, 2011
- Busy Does Not Equal Productive 0 comment(s) | by | posted on April 4, 2011