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Liz Lynch QA How to Be a Power Networker

By on May 3, 2012 in Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat, Women in Business

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Liz Lynch @liz_lynch.  Liz is an international speaker, business development expert, and the author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person & Online. She’s appeared on CNN, ABC News, Fox Business News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC.com, Forbes.com and BusinessWeek.com, and works with professional service firms and successful small businesses to create strategies that get maximum clients with minimum effort. For more information on Liz and access to free articles and resources, visit http://smartnetworking.com.

SmallBizLady: You have a different approach to networking, so tell us what is “power networking”

Liz Lynch: To me, power networking is not about how much time you spend networking, but about the results you’re able to get. In other words, rather than inputs, it’s more about the outcomes. Is your network responsive? When you ask for help, do you get it? Are your contacts sending you great opportunities on a regular basis? Do you have the confidence to pursue any goal you want in your business – whether it’s to write a book, speak internationally, expand into other markets, etc. — because you know you’ll have access to the right people to make it happen?

You don’t have to network 24 hours a day to be a power networker, I sure don’t. Small business owners are busy. If you’re strategic about how you spend your time, the kinds of relationships you build, and the tools and strategies you use, you can get great results without a great deal of effort. And that’s really what I help my clients figure out. What exactly is the right mix of strategies and activities they should be implementing that would be most effective for them? What should they be doing and what should their teams be doing, because networking should be a part of everyone’s job in a company.

 
SmallBizLady: What are some of the biggest mistakes people make with networking?

Liz Lynch: There are 3 big misperceptions that drive people towards the wrong actions:

  1. Misperception #1 “Networking is a numbers game” – Collecting lots of business cards at an event or sending mass emails in LinkedIn to grow your connections as quickly as possible is totally the wrong focus. Having someone’s contact information is not the same as having a relationship with them. And the only thing that counts in networking is the depth of the relationship you have with someone. Will they pick up the phone when you call? Are they willing to recommend you to others? If not, work on building that relationship or else throw that business card away because it’s not going to do you any good.
  2. Misperception #2 “All I have to do is show up” – Despite what Woody Allen said that 80% of success is showing up, it’s the other 20% that’s going to make the real difference in your business success. Yes, you can have a profile on Twitter, and LinkedIn and have a Facebook business page, but if you aren’t using those sites correctly, you can be doing a lot of damage to your brand. Same thing with networking in person. You can go to an event, but if you spend the whole time on the sidelines, or glued to the people you already know, then you won’t get as much out of your time investment.
  3. Misperception #3 “I can’t network effectively because I’m an introvert” – That’s totally wrong. You might network differently from your extroverted friends, but I assure you, you can be successful. I know because I’m an introvert too, and over the years, I’ve discovered so many of my colleagues whom I consider to be great networkers in terms of the results they generate, are introverts too. There are ways to increase your comfort level if you’re an introvert. You can start out with smaller events, or ask the host to introduce you to people you should meet. You can also try to connect with other attendees online first so that you will already know some people when you arrive. A lot of networking groups and event organizers use social media tools so you can see who’s coming and what their background is, and open up the lines of communicate before the event.

 

SmallBizLady: Given the popularity of social media, how important is showing up face-to-face these days?

Liz Lynch: It’s true that we’ve all have gotten a lot more comfortable doing business online and working with people whom we’ve never met. What I’ve found, however, is that face-to-face meetings speed up the progression of a relationship. It increases people’s desire to work with you, even if they have no idea what working with you would entail. When you have that chemistry and rapport from a face-to-face interaction, it’s easier for someone to think of you as the go-to person in your field, and to want to work with you or partner with you in some capacity.

One of the ways you can tell that face-to-face is still very relevant is by the number of social networking conferences there are all over the world. Even people who love to network online and are very comfortable doing so, still want to get together in person. And that’s a good thing because I believe the combination of both is extremely powerful.


SmallBizLady: What are some power tips for networking at events?

Liz Lynch: A big reason people don’t attend events is they feel awkward, they may be introverts and it’s hard for them to break into a crowd. Believe me, I’ve been there. The first networking event I ever attended, I lasted 5 minutes, so I definitely know the feeling of walking into a room full of strangers. So my power tip for them is to get to events early. Even 10-15 minutes before the event officially starts will make a big difference because at that point, there won’t be so many people in the room. It’s a lot easier to find someone to talk to, and before you know it, the event has built up around you and you’re at the center of things, rather than an outsider trying to break in. So that’s my power tip for introverts and anyone else who hates networking in person.

For everyone else, my biggest power tip is to pick the right events. Don’t go to an event just because it’s free or close to your office. Price and convenience shouldn’t be your criteria for attending events. Instead, find events where you’ll have a good chance of building the right relationships for your business, even if it costs you something, and even if you have to get on a plane to be there.

I’ve gone to conferences to meet one person. Someone I really wanted to partner with, but couldn’t get a hold of on the phone or by email. When I approached her at a conference where I knew she’d be speaking, we hit it off right away, and have worked together on numerous projects. I love conferences for networking because they tend to attract a high caliber of professionals, perhaps for the very reason that they do require a higher investment of time and money to attend.

 
SmallBizLady: What are the biggest pitfalls of online networking?

Liz Lynch: One of the biggest mistakes people make is not understanding that online networking is still networking, which means that there has to be two-way interaction. A lot of folks are stuck on one-way interaction, meaning they’re broadcasting out information, usually about themselves, but not engaging in conversations with their friends and followers. One of the things I look for on Twitter to determine whether I’ll follow someone is whether they talk to other people and share other resources, or posting links just to their own website and products.

It’s similar to if you went to a networking event and someone talked about themselves the whole time and never asked you a question. What would that say to you? It would give you the impression that they’re not that interested in you and all they want to do is get their message out. And if that were the case, how much do you think that person would be supportive of you and want to invest any time or effort in helping you advance your goals?

 
SmallBizLady: What are your recommendations for the best ways to use social media?

Liz Lynch: The good and the bad about social media is there aren’t any firm rules. You can choose how you want to use it, you can post whatever you want, you can connect, or not, with whomever you want. For example, some use LinkedIn to connect only with those they already know and some use it to expand their network and are willing to connect with everybody. Both approaches are totally valid depending on the goals of your business.

But just because there aren’t any firm rules, doesn’t meant there aren’t some best practices you should be following. If your intention is to use social media to build your business, there are 3 things you should spend your time doing, and everything else you should stop doing or minimize. If you’re killing hours of time playing games or watching videos of kittens, and then complaining that social media takes too much time and doesn’t work for you, you should re-evaluate what you’re doing.

The 3 ways you should be using social media are:

  1. To build credibility: The majority of your posts should be intended to increase your reputation as an expert in your field. That means posting articles and resources your followers would find helpful. And it’s totally okay to share something personal every once in a while, that’s what adds dimension to your profile and helps people connect with you on other levels, especially if they share your same interest.
  2. To keep in touch: Social media makes it easy to keep in touch with so many people in your network in just minutes a day. On Facebook, you can see which of your friends is having a birthday, and on LinkedIn you can see who just got promoted or changed jobs. And it takes seconds to say “happy birthday” or “congratulations” or to “like” a post. And when you do that, not only does the person you’re talking to see that, and they feel great that you’ve acknowledged them, but their friends and followers see that too.
  3. To add value to others: Again, it takes seconds to share a link or retweet a post on social media, which means that in seconds, you can help someone in your network spread their message. No matter how busy they may be, you’ll show up on their radar screen in a very positive way because you’ve helped them. Every little touch point helps strengthen your relationship.

 

SmallBizLady: How do you manage your time on social media?

Liz Lynch: To prevent social media from being a complete time sink, you really need two things: discipline and productivity tools. With respect to discipline, it’s the same thing most people face with email. Every time management expert tells you to set aside specific blocks in your day to check and respond to email, and you have to discipline yourself not to check it every two minutes because you’ll never get anything done. You should do the same thing with social media. Don’t have Facebook and Twitter on in the background when you’re doing work, and turn off all of your notifications so you’re not interrupted with pop-up alerts that so-and-so is now following you, or invites you to like their page.

Productivity tools that aggregate your social media feeds like Hootsuite or a new service I recently heard of called Nutshell mail, is critical, so that when you are ready to switch over to social media time, everything is in one place for you to look at and respond to.

Decide that you will set aside specific blocks in your schedule to focus on social media for your business, 15 minutes before lunch or the last 30 minutes of the day, for example. Set a timer if you have to and then train yourself to scan for relevant posts to interact with. And when that time is up, move on. Social media will suck you in only if you let it.

 

SmallBizLady: How do you get people to accept your social networking invitations? How do you choose which ones to accept?

Liz Lynch: Everyone uses social media differently and you have to respect that. Some want to use Facebook only for personal reasons, to keep up with their family and close friends. If you’re not a family member or a close friend, obviously there’s nothing you can do about it. But, they may be more open to connecting with you on LinkedIn or Twitter.

When people send you invitations, it’s up to you to decide whether to accept them or not. And you don’t have to be apologetic or feel bad about it. I used to be very closed with my LinkedIn network, accepting invitations only from people I already knew because I wanted to be able to vouch for everybody in my network. But since Smart Networking came out, I’ve become more open because people have heard me speak at an event, or saw me on TV, or read an interview in a magazine and want to connect with me. If someone sends a personalized invitation, that’s always a big plus. One of my pet peeves is when people use the default LinkedIn invitation. Take the 20 seconds and go the extra mile to write a customized note.

If someone declines or ignores your invitation, it’s most likely because you haven’t given them enough context about who you are and why you would like to connect with them. If you answer those two questions when you send your LinkedIn invitation if the first place, you’ll get a higher acceptance rate than if you just relied on the default message.

 
SmallBizLady: How does follow up play a role in networking and what’s the best way to do it?

Liz Lynch: Follow up is crucial, and the big tip here is that you have to take the lead. When you meet someone at an event, you have to make an effort to continue building the relationship and take the next step. You can’t rely on them to do it, because chances are they’ll get pulled back into their crazy-busy everyday world and never follow up with you, even if they want to. So if you want something to happen, if you think there is potential to work together in some capacity, you have to propose the next step. Suggest a follow up conversation by phone.

One of the things I like to do is find an excuse to follow up. During the initial meeting, listen closely to the things they are saying and watch specifically for openings where you can provide assistance, like sending them an article or connecting them to a resource. And then do it.

You don’t have to follow up in the same way with everyone you meet. Obviously not everyone you speak with at an event is going to be a fit with you and your business. One of the easiest ways to follow up that doesn’t take too much time, but allows you to keep the doors open is to invite folks to connect with you on LinkedIn.

 
SmallBizLady: What if you follow up with someone and they don’t respond back?

Liz Lynch: There are lots of reasons people don’t take you up on your offer for a follow up meeting or phone call. They could be very busy or just might not see a compelling reason to take that next step at that particular moment. Fortunately, with social media, you can stay connected and stay on their radar screen in very unobtrusive ways until they are ready.

 
SmallBizLady: You say that every business owner should focus on building strategic partnerships with other business. Explain what you mean by that.

Liz Lynch: There are companies out there who serve the same target market as you do, but with different services, and finding ways to partner with them can open up big sources of highly qualified leads for you. Strategic partnerships help channel more customers into your business much more quickly and easily than trying to find every lead yourself, and it’s one of the key components I cover in my talk on “Lead Generation Leverage: 3 Keys to Getting Maximum Clients from Minimum Effort.”

Leads are the lifeblood of a business. You can’t have customers until you first get leads. Of course you need a good process for converting leads into customers, but if the leads don’t come in the first place, you’re in trouble.

But, companies won’t partner with you or send you leads out of the goodness of their heart. You need to fill a need they have, and you have to be somebody they know, like and trust enough to recommend to their clients because they’re putting their reputations on the line. Positioning yourself as an attractive strategic partner isn’t all that difficult, but I’ve found that business owners don’t focus on this, and it’s a huge missed opportunity.
SmallBizLady: Given everything we discussed here, what’s the #1 piece of advice you’d like everyone to take away from this interview?

Liz Lynch: One thing I discovered early on in my journey that I tell every audience is that networking is so much easier when people come to you. You always have to be proactive, but it’s also great when opportunities fall into your lap. You have to be visible and accessible AND, you have to be someone that people want to get to know, and work with and refer business to. Every single thing I teach about networking is striving towards that goal, and encompasses everything I talked about today: show up, interact, and add value.

 
If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

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Who’s On #SmallBizChat May 2012

By on May 2, 2012 in SmallBizChat

Each week as Smallbizlady, I conduct interviews with small business experts on my weekly Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat.

Here are the upcoming guests for May 2012…

  • 5/2 Liz Lynch @Liz_lynch Author Smart Networking on How to be a Power Networker
  • 5/9 Amy Palmer @FearBustinSales on How to Get Over Your Fear of Selling
  • 5/16 Alfred Edmond Jr. @AlfrededmondJr – Editor at large of Black Enterprise on How to Get Paid What You Are Worth
  • 5/23 Jennifer Abernethy @Saleslounge on How to use Pinterest to Promote Your Small Business
  • 5/30 Jacquette M Timmons @jacqmtimmons Author, Financial Intimacy on How to Get Your Spouse to Support Your Small Business Dream

Join me live every Wednesday, 8PM EST on Twitter – here’s how: follow @smallbizchat on Twitter and click here for instructions bit.ly/S797e

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How to Grow a Billion Dollar Membership Site QA

By on April 26, 2012 in Grow Your Business, Mompreneurs, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat, Women in Business, Your Small Business

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Alexis Maybank @giltfounder Alexis cofounded Gilt Groupe with her best friend Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. Gilt Groupe took only four years to take the fashionista crowd by storm, transform online shopping, and attract five million members and earn a $1 billion valuation.  Previously, Alexis was an early member of the eBay team and launched eBay Canada and helped launch eBay motors; She has a B.A. from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She has appeared on CBS-TV, CNN and other networks. She and her cofounder recently authored BY INVITATION ONLY: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop (Portfolio; 2012) www.giltfounders.com Alexis shares tales from her wild ride of launching a hyper-growth startup.

 

SmallBizLady: Gilt Groupe took both the fashion and e-commerce industries by storm with such a simple idea.  How did you do it?

Alexis Maybank: My partner and I were inspired by the popularity of New York’s designer sample sales, and we wanted to make this popular local pastime available online to customers throughout the US.  Gilt Groupe was designed to offer highly coveted fashion labels at insider prices to a passionate group of consumers. Today we’ve evolved to become a website selling diverse luxury lifestyle products to customers around the world.

 

SmallBizLady: In just 4 years you attracted 5 million members and a $1 billion valuation. What is it that sets Gilt Groupe apart?

Alexis Maybank: The most critical factor contributing to our success was its founding team. In addition, we enlisted the industry’s leading and most coveted brands to sell on our site, for the first time sought to curate the best of a season or collection and not feature everything, tapped cutting edge viral and social marketing techniques to scale the customer base quickly, and used leading site creative to cultivate a leading luxury brand online.

 

SmallBizLady: Common advice is to never go into business with friends or family, but you have turned that on its head.  How has it worked for you?

Alexis Maybank: In a startup, it is absolutely critical to be able to trust and rely on your co founders and/or team. If you are considering going into business with a friend or family member, you are likely to put a lot on the line. It is important to communicate. Lay out any potential issues or concerns on the table and talk about them in detail. We did this because people told us to have these discussions, but we were never all that concerned about working together. It is important to think about the context of your friendship. In our case, we were friends from business school, so we had seen each other’s work ethic and drive in action, and we were familiar with each other’s basic business acumen. Most important, we each had seen the other at our best and worst and knew we would not encounter any surprises as we hit the inevitable highs and lows any start-up faces as it grows. Our confidence and trust in each other was absolute.

 

SmallBizLady: You talk about relationships and execution being keys to your success. Why are these two factors so important?

Alexis Maybank: Relationships were absolutely critical to the success of Gilt. Our relationships with the fashion community were necessary in convincing brands to sell their wares on Gilt. Our relationships with friends were important because they helped to form our early base of members and customers of the site. Our relationships also enabled us to find and recruit top talent in all functional areas, from merchandising to marketing to operations technology and finance.  Execution is key; ideas are cheap.  We knew that we needed to execute our vision better than our competitors, and we started having competitors enter our industry very quickly.

 

SmallBizLady: Gilt Groupe’s success was largely built during the recession. What advice do you have for someone starting their business in this economy?

Alexis Maybank: There is no better time than now to pursue an idea you are deeply passionate about, and in fact there are many sources of financing available now to would-be-entrepreneurs. If you have an idea, here are some things that you might consider in determining if now is the right time to pursue it. First the idea should be easy for you to explain in one sentence to a friend or colleague.  Second, does this concept exist in any shape or form already? Why or why not? Take an honest look at the marketplace. Who else is out there? Has someone already tried this and failed—and if so, why? Have times changed? Sometimes an idea can be too ahead of its time and advanced for the market. Importantly, can you test your idea before overinvesting, just to make sure? These days the best way to make sure that the time is right for your idea is to get it out there and see what people think. Getting customer feedback from the start will help you build a better product, one that will maximize your investment.

 

SmallBizLady: In your book you discuss the value of naysayers especially early on in building the company.  Can you explain their value? 

Alexis Maybank: Don’t get discouraged by the people who tell you your idea will never work. Instead listen to them and see if you can apply any of their thinking into refining and improving your strategy. If you can anticipate pitfalls and those hard questions you will get from investors and partners alike in advance and more importantly be ready with great, well-thought-through answers, then you will be better equipped for the challenges ahead.

 

SmallBizLady: With the tech industry still being predominantly male, what are some of the unique challenges you faced getting started? 

Alexis Maybank: We launched a business initially targeting female customers; in fact we were precisely the target demographic. This was very clearly an advantage as we understood the consumer mindset better than anyone. Beyond that it can be more challenging raising money as a woman. Women led 28 percent of all U.S. businesses in 2002. Yet female entrepreneurs historically receive less of the invested dollars coming from venture capital firms, estimates are as little as four to nine percent.  So while this is clearly a challenge, keep in mind that as a female you are more likely to be a more memorable party pitching the partnership as there are not as many women to walk through there doors to begin with!

 

SmallBizLady: Entrepreneurs think that venture capitalists invest in ideas, but you argue they really invest in people.  So what makes them want to invest in someone? 

Alexis Maybank: Because there’s so little due diligence that can be done on most new start-ups, it’s natural that VCs concentrate most on the team involved. Many investors like to see a track record of success and will use this to guide them. Drive, ambition, leadership potential, integrity and the ability to motivate others are also important traits for an entrepreneur. You need to focus on the background and skill sets of the key team members in order to convince investors that you are the right team to back.

 

SmallBizLady: Growth is something all small business owners work towards, but growing too quickly can be detrimental.  How can this be avoided?

Alexis Maybank: There are two areas where you see companies suffer when growing too rapidly. The first is not anticipating the right type of people they will need to lead various teams or functions, hiring them too late or making the wrong choices in hiring.  Hire fast enough, but do not over-hire, and invest in recruiting the right talent so you do not have to rehire later, which is often a time consuming and sometimes costly mistake.  Second, if you grow too rapidly and are not investing enough in making sure your business infrastructure is strong enough then you can find yourself ground to a halt when the site crashes, the orders outpace what you can ship out in an acceptable time, or your accounting systems fail and lead to detrimental errors in expense reporting or others. Try to anticipate what could “break” next and get rigorous as a team in shifting focus fast enough to address these problems.

 

SmallBizLady: What advice can you offer for how to spot a trend that could reinvent an industry?

Alexis Maybank: There are no simple formulas here.  However if you are intimately familiar with an industry or a customer group, and you recognize a really tough problem that is universally faced or a so-called pain point that confronts all, and you have a pretty good solution that you could introduce or build better than the existing alternatives, then you are probably on to something important.  Some of these problems could have been left for dead or abandoned, and sometimes people need to just take a fresh look at them.

 

SmallBizLady: Can anyone transform a personal passion like shopping into a business?
Alexis Maybank: Not all personal passions should be transformed into a business, but if you think that your passion has a viable market, then explore it, and perhaps find someone who could join you in your venture. We believe doing a start-up with someone you trust is so much more rewarding and fun than going at a business alone.

 

SmallBizLady: What role should style play in a professional woman’s career?

Alexis Maybank: Style is important, not only in terms of looking well groomed and put together in a manner true to who you are as a person, but more importantly personal leadership style. In the book we discuss differences in leadership styles. Not every approach will work for every woman, but over time one can hone in on what feels natural and what is effective in reaching your goals and standing out amongst the crowd.  If you are true to your nature in presentation and style, then you feel most comfortable, and are inevitably at your most confident – the key ingredient to true style.

 

SmallBizLady: Gilt Groupe has since expanded beyond fashion with sister sites such as Jetsetter.com for travel and GiltCity.com for local deals and finds.  Was this always part of the plan?

Alexis Maybank: We have always been close to our customers. We both spend a lot of time with our members, listening to their perspective and ideas and responding to their feedback, as well as investing in regular customer research. Our members communicated clearly that they were not only interested in fashion and decorative items, but they lived or aspired to live a luxury lifestyle which included travel, local experiences, food and wine. We incorporated this feedback into our business and our offerings.

 

SmallBizLady: What are some tips you can share to help people maintain their corporate culture during major company growth?

Alexis Maybank: It is not always easy to maintain a corporate culture as a company grows, but it is important and is absolutely worth the investment. Establishing a vision and a mission and regularly communicating them to the employee base and to potential hires is important. Think about company culture when hiring. The cultural fit for a candidate is just as important, and sometimes even more important, than the candidate’s skill set.  The best way to select individuals who fit your company’s culture is to include employees in the hiring process who embody the culture and are really good at vetting for certain values in the hiring process.  Make sure they are involved in training new hires, too.  You can even do something as simple as hosting lunch or after-work cocktails.  No matter what however, the company’s culture will always be a reflection of the leader or leadership. So you must lead based on what you value culturally.  Any disconnect will lead to a shift, even if not intended.

 

SmallBizLady: What challenges is Gilt currently facing and what are you doing to overcome them?

Alexis Maybank: Our site has always centered on the excitement of fresh inventory daily at insider prices and our customers know we have selected the best of the best from a collection or a designer, so they don’t have to look at everything or spend hours shopping.  It’s a simple, fast and fun experience that revolutionized online shopping.  As we grow into more lifestyle categories and offer hundreds of sales weekly now, we must focus on keeping the shopping experience as exhilarating, speedy and entertaining. This means we have to invest heavily in anticipating what each customer wants to shop for when s/he visits our site.  People want to see the 15 sales best for them – not everything — and feel ‘wow, Gilt really knows me.’  Therefore we are investing in understanding people’s preferences and shopping patterns so that we can deliver the most personalized shopping experience on the web to each person and allow her / him to discover the right products quickly.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter.  Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e 

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Use Facebook to Grow Your Small Business

By on April 19, 2012 in Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat, Social Media

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with AK Stout @akstout18. AK has been working with social media for the past 6 years,  as one of the first group introduced to Facebook.  AK prides herself in finding ways to utilize her knowledge and experiences in conjunction with the ever-expanding mix and advantages of new media tools to help businesses enhance their online footprint. Check out her website http://www.sayingitsocial.com

 

SmallBizLady: Should I use a Facebook Page, Profile, or Group for by business?

AK Stout: Businesses should use Facebook Business Pages in order to be in ompliance with Facebook’s Terms of Service and to reap the best business benefits on Facebook. To create a Facebook Business Page go to: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

 

If you have already set up your business on Facebook and you accidentally set it up on the personal profile platform (if you have to approve ‘Friends’ for your business – you have a personal profile) you can migrate your Profile to a Page while retaining ‘Friends’ and ‘Subscribers’ as ‘Fans’ by going to: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?migrate

If you are using a Group for your business there isn’t a feature for converting to a Page so you will have to set up a new Page and let your group members know how to find the new Page.

 

SmallBizLady:  What are the business benefits of a having a Facebook Page?

AK Stout: In short, exposure. Facebook Pages are indexed by search engines so if you are posting content relevant to your business you have the potential of having your Facebook Page show up in search engine results.

Having a presence on Facebook also helps keep your business top of mind for your audience. Every time you post something, it could potentially be seen by your ‘Fans’ and while a ‘Fan’ may not need your product or service right then and there, if they keep catching your posts, your business is more likely to come to mind when the time does come to make a purchase decision.

Additionally, whenever one of your ‘Fans’ takes action on your page (posts, likes, comments), that action appears in their activity feed and subsequently in the news feed of their personal network for all to see.

 

SmallBizLady: I created a Facebook Page, why doesn’t anyone ‘Like’ it?

AK Stout: As wonderful as it would be to set up a Page and have people automatically flock to it; that is simply not reality. The next step of the process is to actually let people know you have a Page and to make it as easy as possible for it to be found.

The first step is to click on the button within your Admin Panel that says ‘Build Audience’ and then invite your Friends to ‘Like’ your Page.

Next you’ll want to advertise your Faecbook Page EVERYWHERE. Some places to make sure you have a button, link, or display URL to your Facebook Page would be: your website, your email signature, your personal Facebook, your eNewsletters, printmaterial and even in-store signage.

I always recommend thinking about every point of contact you could have with a prospect or customer and make sure that there is an option for them to ‘Like’ your Facebook Page at that time.

 

SmallBizLady: How do I come up with content to post on my Page?

AK Stout: It is best to post a variety of statuses: links to articles, links to your own blog posts and content, pictures, videos, questions, and quotes. Continually posting the same of one type of status becomes boring for your ‘Fans’ and you will begin to lose their interest.

I recommend setting up Google Alerts to keep track of what is going on in your industry and then pulling quality articles that come to your email to post. When you post blog posts and articles, don’t just post the link, ask a thought provoking question about the article to encourage ‘Fan’ participation.

Multimedia posts have shown to attract the most interest so do not neglect these types of posts.

 

SmallBizLady: When is the best time during the week to post on my Page and how often should I post?

AK Stout: The best day and time to post on your Page depends upon your audience. I’ve found the only way to figure this out is with experimenting and analyzing trends. For the first month or so of Facebook marketing post at all different days and times then begin looking at your Facebook Page Insights to see when your posts are receiving the most impressions and interactions.

As a basic rule I recommend posting 1-2 times per day. There are some Pages that can get away with posting more times than that but you run the risk of irritating your audience and getting ‘unliked’. If you have the content and you want to post more than 2 times per day – give it a try and use your Page Insights to see how your impressions and interactions fair and if you are being ‘unliked’ – if your stats are dwindling you will know your audience thinks it’s too much. If your stats aren’t affected – post away! If you can’t post for a day – don’t panic, just make sure you get a few posts in per week so that if someone stumbles upon your Page they won’t think you’ve abandoned the Page.

 

SmallBizLady: What is an appropriate response time for when people post on my Page?

AK Stout: As soon as possible and before you put out another status update. The worst thing to do is have questions and comments posted on your Page and then you post a status update leaving those people feeling ignored.

Make sure you have post notifications enabled to be delivered to your email and respond at your next opportunity – letting no more than 24 hours elapse. To really impress your audience, carry an email and web enabled smartphone and respond on the go. Nothing makes a Fan feel more appreciated and cared for than an immediate response.

 

SmallBizLady: How should I address negative comments on my Page?

AK Stout:: Unless the negative comments are offensive and have vulgar language do not delete them – deleting negative comments will only infuriate the ‘poster’ and encourage them to continue posting unfavorable comments.

Addressing negative comments in the public eye is not necessarily a bad thing because it shows that you care about your business and your customers. If you can address someone’s problem in a timely manner you may just be able to turn their opinion of you around because they appreciate your desire to help.

If you don’t immediately have a response at least comment to let the person know that you have received their question/comment and that you are looking into a solution and will get back to them. Just the acknowledgement can go a long way.

 

SmallBizLady: My Facebook Page URL is really long and ugly, how do I make it short and customized to put on my print material?

AK Stout:: You can create a custom URL in the form of facebook.com/username by going to http://facebook.com/username and choosing what you want to display for “username”. Make the “username” as close to your business name as possible. If you are going to be doing any print advertising you will want to do this so that your URL is short and memorable.  Note: You cannot create a custom URL for your Page until you have 25 ‘Fans’.

 

SmallBizLady: How can I ‘Use Facebook as my Page’ and why should I do this?

AK Stout: Click on the drop down arrow in the upper right hand corner of Facebook to the right of ‘Home’ and select the name of your Page. When you do that – any interaction you have on Facebook will be under the name of your Page.

You should do this to get on the radar of other businesses by ‘liking’ and commenting on their Pages. If you are going to do this make sure are adding value and not posting promotional messages about your own business that could be perceived as spam.

Doing this will not only get your business on the radar of other businesses but also on the radar of their audiences who will see your business name on the posts as well.

 

SmallBizLady: I saw that I can send my tweets on Twitter to my Facebook page, should I do that so I only have to post one time?

AK Stout: I do not recommend this. The format of a tweet can be confusing to Facebook users who do not use Twitter. @replies and hashtags will look like foreign and misplaced characters on Facebook. Also, when you are posting a link to a blog post or article via Twitter you lose the image of the post, post name, and description from showing on Facebook.

Finally if your strategy is to post many times throughout the day on Twitter that will lead to way too many Facebook posts. If you want to only post in one place, you can send your Facebook posts to Twitter by going to http://facebook.com/twitter

 

SmallBizLady:: I’ve heard running a contest is a good way to get more Facebook fans, how should I implement a contest?

AK Stout: Facebook has very strict guidelines about contests. The most important rule to know is that you cannot administer a contest directly on your Page without using a third-party application. To make sure you are in compliance, carefully read Facebook’s Promotion and Contest Guidelines at: http://on.fb.me/fbcontestguidelines

Once you have chosen an application to implement your contest make sure you let everyone know that you are having a contest – talk about it in your blog posts, email newsletters, website, other social sites and even in your email signature.

 

SmallBizLady: Should I add applications to my Facebook Page?

AK Stout: If you have a YouTube channel, adding a YouTube application to your Page can be a great way to tell your audience about your products and services. If you sell products, you can use Facebook applications to sell right from your Page. There are Facebook applications for a variety of different purposes. It’s important to understand that only three applications chosen by you show up prominently on your Page so while you can add more – just know they won’t all be readily visible without your ‘Fans’ taking action to look for more applications which doesn’t always happen.

 

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

 

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com

 

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Grow An Online Business QA with Andrew Davis

By on April 5, 2012 in Grow Your Business, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Andrew Davis @CPC_Andrew .  Andrew is Author of the Merchant Comparison Shopping Handbook and the Director of Marketing for CPC Strategy, an online retail strategy consultant for retailers and agencies. You can contact Andrew directly at andrew@cpcstrategy.com 

SmallBizLady: What do small businesses need to know before setting up an online store?

Andrew Davis: Before setting up your online store you need to establish your niche and product line. Research needs to be done here. The clothing industry: Huge but there’s a lot of browsing online (low conversions, hard to start paid marketing campaigns) and a ton of online retailers who are already in this space. Unless you’re making really unique, cool, and trendy garments that you know will catch on, it’s probably not the right place for you to be.

You also have to be prepared for the technical resources involved in setting up an online store. Picking a platform, payment systems, tracking clicks and sales, monitoring your SEO efforts and social media profiles are all part of the online retail picture today. Without a knack for technology or a passion to learn it quickly you’ll soon be overwhelmed.

Prepare to learn how to use social media to it’s full potential, it’s becoming more interconnected with search, SEO, traffic, and sales generated by your website.


SmallBizLady: What are some DIY shopping cart solutions?

Andrew Davis: I would suggest ecommercetemplates. Very flexible, affordable and allows you to do your own customizations. Another choice is AspDotNetStoreFront, they’re a little more expensive. There’s also assisted avenues to go through first to help you get your feet on the ground and start selling. Ebay, Amazon and Etsy are a few of the most popular. I’d look at Magento as well. It’s an open source platform that has a ton of flexibility.
SmallBizLady: Does your shopping cart need to have a function to set up a store on Facebook?

Andrew Davis: No, but prepare to have a Facebook page sooner than later to at least use it as a marketing tool. If you’re interested in more info on Facebook commerce I suggest you check out this blog by a great ecommerce writer Linda Bustos on the 7 dimensions of Facebook Commerce http://www.getelastic.com/7-dimensions-of-facebook-commerce/
SmallBizLady: Is Paypal a viable way to collect money or do SMBs need a separate online merchant account?

Andrew Davis: There’s nothing wrong with using Paypal to get started. It’s a trusted payment system and will integrate with your site quickly. Some other options to consider is implementing Google Checkout / Google Wallet and Amazon Checkout so users with accounts on those popular sites can check out with easy.

Make sure you set up your merchant services and gateway through a local bank. You can also search for an authorize.net gateway reseller.
SmallBizLady: How should I design my site?

Andrew Davis: Work with a web designer who’s experienced in ecommerce to develop the look and feel of your site. User experience is KEY. Not what you think looks good. You want to make it as easy as possible for a user to use, navigate, and checkout on your site. After this is set up, test, test test. I’d check out http://unbounce.com for help testing landing pages and providing analytics you can extract to make informed decisions about your product page designs moving forward. Testing is key!
SmallBizLady: How do I record sales?

Andrew Davis: Besides your accounting behind the scenes, I highly recommend using Google Analytics as a free Analytics tool to track user metrics and conversions. Be sure to install the ecommerce pixel portion of Google Analytics and learn how to tag your product URLs with appropriate tags.


SmallBizLady: Once an online store is set up how should I promote it?

Andrew Davis: SEO, SEO, SEO, social media, social media, social media. These avenues will be the foundation of all revenue streams, even paid marketing channels. Start there first and really throw yourself and your team into getting a solid SEO strategy built out first. Listen to Gary V in the video above – he knows consumer trends better than anyone. If you market like him you’re going to be successful.

 

SmallBizLady: How do I stay ahead in the ecommerce industry?

Andrew Davis: Here are some industry experts and websites that will help you keep up with all the latest SEO and online marketing trends:

 Here’s some great websites to follow as well.

  •  SEOmoz.org
  •  GetElastic.com
  •  SearchEngineWatch.com
  • SearchEngineLand.com
  • Unbounce.com/blog
  • Distilled.net/blog

 

SmallBizLady:  How do I grow my online business?

Andrew Davis: Scale is so important for small businesses. The big guys (Walmart, Best Buy, Target) have already solidified their positions online and are able to scale with ease. You need to be prepared at the beginning to suffer some losses in short term revenue to invest in the long-term health of your business. Develop a strategy that embodies grabbing market share rather than short term profits and you’ll be in for a fun ride. It’s a hard line to walk when you’re a small business owner, but it’s important to understand if you want to bring your small business to the next level. SEO is the main area where you need to learn how to scale. Interns, outsourcing, family members, friends, all can be used to help you develop your social network and content creation strategy faster, which pays off in the long run.

 

SmallBizLady: How do I become more efficient in my online business?  

Andrew Davis: Efficiency in online retail comes from the tools you use. It’s going to be important to have a centralized area where you can discuss key tasks with your employees, like through a private Facebook group or Google+ circle.

That could actually be an interesting way to incentivize your employees to use Google+ more, which sends signals to Google that help with SEO. Other interesting tools and skills that can help speed up your efficiency are:

  •  Ghostery for finding out what tools and programs your competitors use (Chrome plugin)
  • Boomerang for Gmail
  • StayFocusd for Web Browsing (Chrome plugin)
  • Google Docs
  • Microsoft Excel / Access proficiency
  • HTML
  • CSS
  • In Design
  • PHP
  • Copywriting (so much SEO is about social media and blogging these days it’s important to understand each from a psychological standpoint, i.e. how to communicate to your audience, and from a work standpoint, i.e. how to achieve the goals with social media and blogging that you want to achieve)

Don’t be afraid to outsource menial tasks overseas. It’s not your best use of time to focus on repetitive, time consuming tasks. If you think you can outsource it and do it fine, do it, so you can focus on more high level strategy and project execution.

With online retail, it’s most important to know when to scale and how. You want to keep moving up. Some online retailers take over a niche or establish a certain market share but don’t know how to move up to the next level.

Start small, but make sure you consult with others more experienced on when and how to scale. This is also very important for online marketing strategy. You may think you know the best way to do something, but find out 6 months later a different way would have been better and saved you time.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help and soak up knowledge. Attend a conference or two. Some are free for online retailers.

How to Make Your Employees More Efficient:

You’ll want to incentivize your employees to achieve key goals in your business. For example, want a higher conversion rate? Give a bonus to your web designer if it goes up by X percentage points.

Want a bigger social media presence? Do the same.

Also, make sure each employee is in the most efficient spot for use of their talents. You as the head will be wearing many different hats, but you don’t want a web designer doing PPC, and you don’t want a data guy making design decisions. Everyone’s opinion counts, but know who’s best suited for what in your company.


SmallBizLady: How much upfront money do I need to get started?

Andrew Davis:  This depends on your category. You can get started for around $5k but be prepared to use $10k – $15k within your first year of operation if you want to make some steady growth. Growing your ecommerce store is all about investing for the long term upfront. Landing page testing increases your conversion rates which makes all other marketing initiatives more efficient. SEO should be the backbone of these marketing initiatives to test your landing page and refine your site before moving into paid marketing channels. Remember, paid marketing channels will give you quick money, but you can easily overspend and it can get out of control. And more important, paid traffic is not as good for the long term health of your business as is SEO. Think long term, control your niche, prove to Google that you are the expert in your field for your products (show them why with your content, videos, customer service strategy, etc) and Google will reward you with lots of organic traffic.

 

SmallBizLady: Anything else I need to know before I get started?

Andrew Davis:  Prepare to use email marketing to it’s full potential. Coupons are important as well. Shoppers want to feel like they’re getting a deal. You’ll be collecting the contact information of any user that completes a sale on your site, and that’s some of the most valuable data you’ll have. Work on increasing the lifetime value of these customers by sending them coupons and just saying ‘thanks’ for being a customer.

If you want a real world example of an online retail store that really knows how to treat a customer, check out www.heartypet.com.

 

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

Comments { 4 }

How to Stop Burning Money in Your Small Business!

By on February 28, 2012 in Cash Flow & Finance, Guest Articles

stop burning money in small businessYour unrecorded expenses are a profit fire hazard.  Do any of these statements sound familiar?

  • “It’s only $5.   It’s not worth my time.”
  • “I’ll do my expenses when I’m not busy.”
  • “There’s no easy way to track my expenses.”
  • “I have money in the bank, so I don’t need to worry about expenses.”

If so, your unrecorded expenses are in danger of becoming a profit fire hazard.  Why carelessly burn up all your hard work? 

In a few hundred words I’ll debunk the myths above and show you easy, practical ways to get your business expense proofed.  Why is this such a crucial issue?  Consider the following:

Every dollar of expense you fail to track is costing you at least $1.35!  In today’s economy, heck in any economy, if you someone offered you an instant, no-risk return of 35% would you say no?   Of course not!  So keep reading and find out how you can earn it starting today.

Expense Tracking Myth #1: Its only $5.  It’s not worth my time.  How about an extra $351?  Is that worth your time?

If you fail to record a $5 expense every week for a year, that is $260 ($5 *52 Weeks).  Since you actually lose $1.35 for every dollar, the real cost is $351 ($260 * 1.35).

Spend a few minutes and think about how many receipts, or “small expenses” you’ve lost, forgotten or just threw out in the past few weeks.  I bet it’s more than $5 a week!  That money is coming right out of your pocket.

Expense Tracking Myth #2: I’ll do my expenses when I’m not busy.  Show me an entrepreneur that isn’t busy, and I’ll show you an entrepreneur that isn’t successful.  Cut out even 15 minutes of Social Media a week and you can get this done.

Expense Myth #3: There’s no easy way to track my expenses.  I’ll let you in on a little secret.  I positively hate doing expenses.  Yes The Numbers Whisperer™ and lover of all things finance hates tracking expenses.  Good news, there are easy, low cost solutions.

My personal favorite is Shoeboxed.com, which lets you submit your receipt by forwarding emails (so easy), uploading scanned receipts, using their smartphone app or even mailing in hardcopies and they fill in all the details.  It’s expense tracking heaven!  Prices start at free (yes, I said free).

Other options include Keebo.com (UK version of Shoeboxed.com) and Expensify.com.  If you are truly buried under an avalanche of receipts consider a bookkeeper to get you caught up, their fees are very budget conscious compared with a CPA.

Expense Myth #4: I have money in the bank, so I don’t need to worry about expenses. 

Why you lose at least $1.35 for each dollar of expense you fail to track

When you perform work for a client, or produce a product for a customer you incur certain expenses.  Let’s say you have to buy a Super Widget, and it costs $10.  Aren’t you going to include that cost in the price you charge your client?

If you don’t (and why wouldn’t you?), you are spending money that should go into your personal bank account for a client’s expense. If you don’t record the expense you can’t ensure you bill the client for it.

Consider this. When you worked for someone else, and had to buy something for your employer with your own money or credit, did you get reimbursed?  Of course you did!  So why aren’t doing the same thing with your business?  If you don’t treat your business as a business you will forever be held back from reaching your profit goals.

Where does the other $0.35 come from?  Quite simply, the tax man.

From the government’s point of view, since you didn’t record that dollar of expense, it must be a dollar of income.  That means it is taxable!  A US business owner is considered self-employed, therefore he or she must pay 12.4% FICA and 2.8% Medicare on their income.  Right there you’ve got 15.3 cents you’re out.

What about the other 20 cents? The average working American easily pays more than a 20% tax rate on their earned income between state and federal taxes.  In many other countries the rates are even higher.   At a minimum you are out $1.35 total, it could be much higher depending on your tax bracket.

Give yourself a 35% return today.  Track all of your expenses.

Nicole Fende is The Numbers Whisperer™ and President of Small Business Finance Forum.  As a credentialed actuary with experience as a Chief Financial Officer, Investment Banker, and successful entrepreneur, Fende helps her clients reach their profit goals and learn how to effectively and enjoyably run the financial side of their business. In her book, How to be a Finance Rock Star, Nicole shares the same strategies she uses for her profit coaching clients to help them reach multi-platinum profits.  You can order her book on Amazon.com.

 

Comments { 1 }

7 Great Digital Tools to Help Your Small Business

By on February 27, 2012 in Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, My Recommendations

Small Business Technology ToolsMost small business owners have a to do list that is way too long. Let’s face it, running a business has become more difficult than ever. The good news is that technology is now making some things about running a business a lot easier. There are a number of free and low-cost digital tools that can help you meet your business goals. Here are 7 tech tools that could help you save time and money.

http://marketing.grader.com/ by Hubspot, is a free tool to evaluate your marketing through your website. You’ll know what marketing activities are working (or aren’t working). You’ll get answers to questions: Are you doing enough to bring visitors to your website? How is your content creation working? How are your optimization and website promotion skills? How do you do when it comes to converting traffic into leads? Do your landing pages, conversion forms, email marketing and social media efforts compare?)? This free tool is completely worthwhile.

Lexity.com: is a real time analytics application that provides online retailers with a live window into individual visitors’ shopping activity in their online store. This free app gives merchants the tools to better understand their customers’ shopping patterns – what they buy, browse and ignore.

Enloop: is great free business plan software. Enloop can work for seasoned entrepreneurs working on reinvention or a student working on their small business hustle in a dorm room. You can quickly build an investor ready document that will make your business shine. Enloop offers a paid version, but most entrepreneurs can get what they need from the free version.

AIM: Lets you share photos, links and documents in messages more easily and collaborate better with more sophisticated group chat. Plus, the app for smartphones and tablets syncs conversations so you never miss a message while you’re running from meeting-to-meeting or travelling back home from a trip.

Evernote: Manages your digital to-do list and keeps random notes all in one place across all of your devices to help you stay on top of regular tasks and reminders.

About.me: Make it easy for people to find you by building a free page on about.me.  The site makes it easy to connect your online identity from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. in one place so potential customers or clients can learn more about you. Take control of your online identity and breathe new life into networking and personal branding to make sure you make the right first impression.

Freshbooks: is online accounting and invoicing software that is easy to use. You can send an invoice a few seconds after creating your account no matter what level of experience you have.  You can send invoices via email and snail mail if you wish. The account starts out free then there’s nominal monthly fee for use, which increases depending on the features you need. Accounting is tough for most business owners and you need to know all the options available.

Do you have a new digital tool for small business to suggest?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

Comments { 6 }

7 Must Use Social Media Platforms to Grow Your Small Business

By on February 21, 2012 in Guest Articles, Social Media

The best way to promote your business online is through social media platforms. 78% of people trust peer recommendations, whereas only 14% trust ads. Just think about how often you’ve tried something based on someone else telling you that it’s worth checking out.

Having a great online presence on the right platforms not only makes your business more personable and approachable, helping you build great relationships with your current and potential customers, but more importantly it offers you the opportunity amplify your message to millions of others.

That being said, for small business owners, time and resources is something they cannot afford to waste. With new social media platforms popping up all over the place, the choices can get overwhelming, but jumping into the right one can be tremendously rewarding.

Here’s my breakdown of 7 social media websites, and why they could be worth your time.

1.   Facebook - Most of you reading this probably have a personal profile on Facebook and possibly even a Facebook “fan page”

With over 850 million users, Facebook is the one platform that is pretty much a no-brainer.

As you may have noticed, Facebook recently updated the look of everyone’s profiles to display as timelines. Timeline is the Facebook’s new profile that helps tell your life story through photos, friendships and personal milestones like graduating or traveling to new places.

In the upcoming weeks, Facebook will be doing the same for brand pages. Timeline is a great chance to tell the stories that make your business unique. Also, Facebook ads have emerged as a popular and cost-effective way to promote your small business to targeted users online.

2. Twitter - Twitter is one of those platforms that has a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it can serve as a tremendous benefit to your small business.

It’s the perfect tool to directly engage with individual customers, and is an instant way to get feedback and learn from your customers to improve your product or service.

Twitter took me a while to learn, but I feel like it is the most personal of all the social platforms, and you can’t beat it for truly building relationships. If you’re looking to start somewhere, begin by reading Melinda’s post on how Twitter changed her life.

3. LinkedIn - LinkedIn works well if you are in one of the more professional fields. Along with yourself, you can create a company profile for your business.

Another useful feature is LinkedIn’s groups. Here you can connect with other like-minded folks as well as potential customers. In my opinion, this is the best part of LinkedIn. Groups allow you to gather and network with others in your industry.

4. YouTube – YouTube, which happens to be owned by Google, is the largest video platform and surprisingly enough, is the second largest search engine. You can create a branded YouTube channel, which is a positive addition to your social presence, especially if you’re committed to creating compelling and informational videos.

Video can be a very powerful tool to demonstrate your expertise. What’s great about YouTube is that it’s good for seo (search engine optimization), has a global audience, and has the potential for your videos to go viral.

5. Tumblr - Tumblr is a free micro-blogging platform and community where people set up blogs or “tumblelogs”. It allows you to post pretty much anything –videos, audio files, photos, links and text notes. In addition, people from Tumblr community can reblog your posts to share with their followers.

The best thing about Tumblr is that it’s dead simple. It’s easy to set up and customize, and you can start posting within minutes and it’s packed with great visually appealing themes.

If you want to start up a blog for your business, Tumblr is a good place to start.

6. Foursquare - Foursquare is different from the others mentioned here. It’s a smartphone based geo-location app that rewards users with points for every time they check in to various locations. The person, who checks into a place the most, claims mayorship of that particular location.

Registering your business on Foursquare, and then offering badges or special deals can be a compelling way of inducing people to check-in when they visit.

With over 10 million users, Foursquare is a nice platform to experiment with if you’re looking to set up a rewards based system with your loyal customers.

7. Pinterest - This platform is buzzing at the moment, and for good reason. In the past six months, visits to Pinterest grew by 4000%, receiving an amazing 11 million hits in just one week. One of the most interesting stats about Pinterest is the fact that over 80% of its users are women.

You can use Pinterest to host contests, inspire your customers, offer exclusive discounts to your followers and perhaps most importantly sell your products by adding a price to your pinned item and directing them to your online store.

I often hear Pinterest users saying, “I’m addicted!” For businesses, that can be a great thing.

Pinterest has also proved to be a great way to drive traffic to your site, and in some cases, has out-performed Facebook.

Choosing the right social media platform for your business comes down to where your users are, and which one you enjoy using.

I’ve enjoyed experimenting with all of these platforms. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Personally, Twitter has been really working well for my startup PressPass.

Getting yourself involved in the right emerging social media websites can really benefit your business as you ride the platform’s rapidly growing number of users to acquire new customers.

Over to you now. Have you tried out any of these platforms for your business? What methods have you used that worked, and what didn’t?

Valencio Cardoso is a product designer, and social media marketer. He is the co-founder of PressPass.me – an interactive directory of journalists and media organizations aimed at helping startups and small businesses find the right journalists for their newsworthy stories. Message him on twitter @ValencioCardoso

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How To Effectively Evaluate Your Next Business Venture

By on February 14, 2012 in Grow Your Business, How to Start

Are you on your way to starting a small business in the near future? Do you already own a business and have a list of goals to take it to the next level?  Are you contemplating incorporating new revenue streams to help grow your bottom line?  Or maybe you’re thinking about tapping into a new niche?

No matter what your goals are, they should always be approached with a plan and a strategy.  It makes for a good story when spontaneous actions work out, but the likelihood of having a glamorous story with this tactic is few and far between.  Each of your ventures should be positioned with the highest probability to succeed and taking specific measures early on can make it happen.

A SWOT analysis is an effective and efficient way to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats inherent in your next business venture or project.  It gives you an organized framework to think about key objectives in light of internal and external factors.  You can weigh the factors that are favorable, and more importantly, unfavorable as you strategize and determine your plan for a profitable future.

Here is what you should consider under each element of the analysis:

Strengths.  What does your business do best?  What gives it its edge?  Why do customers choose you? What factors help you “close the deal?”  As you answer these questions, you’ll notice that you’ll not only look inward but you’ll also consider external perceptions as you evaluate how the market views your brand.

Weaknesses.  What are some areas of improvement?  What do most competitors do better?  What are some customers’ needs that you haven’t yet addressed?  What should you completely avoid?  Admitting areas of improvement is never easy but honesty allows you to get help in these areas and focus on where you excel.

Opportunities.  What is happening in the market?  What are some trends that you can benefit from?  Are consumers’ tastes in line with what services or products you offer?  Find out what needs are not being met and think of how you can provide solutions. Get outside of your own head and business, reach out to others, find out what is happening and more importantly, find out what’s next.  Create ways to be innovative.

Threats. What are some things in the market that you should be mindful of? Is the market already saturated with major competitors providing the same services and products?  Are there laws and regulations that will make it difficult for your business to continue?  Are technological changes threatening how you’ve always done business?  

Additional Tips:
- Create your objective after you’ve created and evaluated your SWOT Analysis.  You’ll have more insight and direction this way.
- As you create a list under each section, prioritize them.  Some things will definitely be more time-sensitive than others.
- Match your strengths with opportunities and also find ways to convert weaknesses into strengths.

You can create a SWOT analysis alone or you can make it a team-building exercise and leverage off the insights of other people in your business.  In groups, it not only provides an opportunity to get everyone on the same page but it also lays the foundation for a shared vision.

When you keep a big-picture perspective and you’re honest about all likelihoods, you develop a more realistic sense of expectations and you are better prepared.  A SWOT analysis can help you narrow your focus, avoid pitfalls, develop a plan based on what is realistically attainable and implement a strategy.  As an added bonus, you get insight about your positioning and direction in the market.

Have you used a SWOT analysis before?  What did you learn during the process?  How did it help you? 

Dasanj AberdeenDasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain imagination as a businesswoman and artist. She founded  TheAfter5Edge.com  as a platform for encouraging others to optimize their potential by discovering and leveraging their strengths to obtain their competitive edge.  She is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  Follow her on Twitter at: @TheAfter5Edge.

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How to search for lease space for your small business

By on February 7, 2012 in How to Start

lease space signIn talking with countless prospective tenants working in the commercial office leasing industry since the 2000’s, I realized that there is a huge misconception of what the ultimate goal of a business is when it comes to leasing. Most people think the goal is to find a great affordable space in a desirable building located in the right part of town and to ultimately sign a lease. But that is only half of what needs to be accomplished.

Once the lease is signed, the result every business owner or decision maker should strive for has not been gained yet. The ultimate result is to be able to come into your office, kick your feet up on your desk, and feel truly at home at your office.  Studies show that we spend over 30% of our waking lives at the office; so choosing the right space takes careful planning, education, and typically a good tenant broker.

Getting the help you need

A good tenant broker is a market expert, who knows the leasing landscape of a specific region or several regions.  They know who the good landlords are, what spaces are available that aren’t listed online, and market comps for things like electricity costs and other me what “hidden” costs that are in a commercial lease.

We’ve heard horror story after horror story about business owners rushing to sign a lease, getting moved in, and then finding something terrible about the space they just committed to for three years.  The only way to avoid that situation is to follow these steps:

  • Don’t just rely on online listings and call the landlord directly.  The landlord wants you to be uneducated and prefers that you not have a tenant broker helping you.
  • Try to learn a few commercial leasing 101 facts so you have an idea what to look for.  Here’s a great place to start! New Tenant Leasopedia
  • Hire a tenant broker to help you on your search.  You don’t want to go it alone, you can’t possibly have all the data required to make an informed decision.  A good tenant broker is your shepherd and they get paid by the landlord, not you!
  • Do not sign over a three year lease. Most landlords will try to lock you in to a contract as long as they can, but you can always walk away. You should not let anyone but pressure on you.

Don’t go it alone.  It can be a tough process, but there is help out there.  Remember, the dream isn’t to sign a lease at a good rental rate. The dream is kick your feet up on your desk and be surrounded by great office space for your business!

Do you have any more commercial real estate tips?

Justin Lee is co-founder of The Square Foot. The Square Foot is a website that connects businesses with local real estate agents who have insider market information that you won’t learn from listing services or landlords in the Houston area. Justin is a licensed real estate salesman in Texas and has worked in commercial real estate since 2000. For more discussion and help with finding and renting space for your business, be sure to check out TheSquareFoot.

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How to be a Successful Freelancer

By on February 6, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, How to Start

working freerlancerMost small businesses start today as a side hustle first. In fact, 1 in 3 Americans is a freelancer or temporary worker in the post-recession era, according to research by the Human Capital Institute (HCI). The majority of contract workers are part-timers, and their ranks are growing at more than twice the rate of full-time employees, the HCI reports.

The reality is that many people who lost jobs during the recession are putting themselves back to work by pitching their skills to companies, including their former employers, as “free agents.”

Your flexibility as a free agent can be appealing to employers who need to get the job done but don’t want to pay for things like health insurance, taxes and retirement benefits — which is associated with full-time employees. You can use this demand to your advantage and build a freelance business to support yourself, stay current in your field and keep moving in an unstable economy.

Here are five key attributes you’ll need to be a successful freelancer.

1. Be Professional. Just because you may be working from a home office doesn’t mean you forget your manners. The same standards of professionalism you used in the workplace apply as a self-employed professional. Set up a work space that is conducive to doing business and working long hours. Make sure you are in quiet surroundings when making calls — your clients should not hear the TV blaring, your child crying or the dog barking while they’re considering whether to give you money to work on a project for them.

2. Be Meticulous About Tracking Your Hours. It’s easy to lose track of the time you spend on a project when you’re not punching a time clock. Often, independent contractors find themselves spending more time on a project than they would have if they were working in a regular office environment. It is up to you to ensure that you’re getting paid for the work you’re putting in and complete projects in a timely manner. To set a realistic hourly rate, Michelle Mangen, president of Your Virtual Assistant, based in Sarasota, Fla., suggests surveying the competition. “When I first started my business as a virtual assistant, I asked other VAs what they charged, and that’s how I figured out my initial pricing strategy,” says Mangen. Be sure to include project management time in your bids; interaction with clients eats up lots of time.

3. Focus on a Niche Specialty. You cannot be all things to all people. Focus on a specific niche customer or industry. Examine your transferable skills, figure out the pain points of your target customer, find out where those skills are in demand, and go after the business. Also, seek out work that may fulfill a passion that you wouldn’t have gone after on a traditional job. For example, if you are a CPA who enjoys cooking, you could specialize in doing accounting work just for restaurants.

4. Build a Web Portfolio. Potential customers and recruiters will search online to find information about you before making contact. That’s why it’s essential to have a website and online presence that displays your expertise. Establish a LinkedIn profile to help you showcase your portfolio. (Read my article Are You Google-able?)

5. Be a Networking Machine. Don’t sit in your house and do all of your socializing online. Seek out local networking events and trade associations in your field and join the chapters in your area. Keep your elevator pitch handy. When you’re out in the community, whether you’re in transit to meet a client or running errands, talk up your business to your banker, your local merchants, and the parent on your child’s baseball team who is an executive at a company that could use your services. Carry business cards at all times. Make sure contact information is updated and includes all places they can find you online.

Finding work: Many websites help freelancers develop their businesses and stay sane in the process. Here are three good resources.

  • Elance. Site connects freelancers with companies looking for help.
  • Freelancer. Companies and entrepreneurs use this online hub to post their projects and expertise and find good matches. .
  • Guru. A freelancer marketplace that also handles payment processing. The site features profiles and websites of 250,000 active freelancers.

Do you have a favorite website for finding freelance opportunities?

This article was originally posted on www.secondact.com and the copyright is held by Entrepreneur Media. 

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

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How to Have Smarter E-Mail Management

By on January 17, 2012 in Grow Your Business

E-mail is here to stay.  And the amount of the e-mail we all receive is steadily increasing.  With the average professional receiving between 80 and 100 e-mails every day, it can be a real challenge to not only manage all those e-mails, but to stay current.  It is an even bigger challenge to be able to do these things in what we used to define as the normal work day.

Unfortunately, many people have gotten into the habit of “saving” their e-mail for their quiet time — before work, during lunch, after the office closes, or weekends.  While this practice may be appropriate in exceptional circumstances, too many people have incorporated these personal times into their regular workdays. Now people are finding that they are spending more and more time each day working as e-mail is extending their workload by as much as two hours.

 If you find yourself suffering from e-mail overload and staying at the office later than intended, here are some time-saving tips.

Reduce the number of times you check for new e-mail.  Constantly checking for new e-mails and responding to them immediately actually results in decreased productivity. Therefore, we recommend checking no more than five times daily.  Morning, midmorning, after lunch, mid afternoon, and before the end of the workday.  Tell people that if they need you urgently, to please call.

Incorporate e-mail sorting into your day. You cannot avoid e-mail but by sorting, prioritizing, and planning specific times in your day (not after work or on the weekends) to conquer the e-mailed tasks, you will set the stage for getting out of the office earlier.

Differentiate between “sorting” and “handling” e-mail.  Too many people confuse these two actions.  It is important that you go into your e-mail a few times daily and sort the newly received items.  Note: sort does not mean work.

The two-minute limit: One exception to the sort versus work rule is if you can accomplish the task in the e-mail within two minutes, do it! If not, file it in an appropriate folder to be viewed when you are planning your priorities for the day.

Set a regular time, once daily, to plan your work for the day.  This allotted time is when you go into your sorted e-mail to determine its priority in relation to other projects, telephone calls, meetings, and assigned work.  Most people do this in the morning. By setting a regular time daily you will be assured of working the e-mails you receive in the proper priority.

Control your e-mail, don’t let it control you: Turn off automatic send and receive and check your e-mail on your own time. Don’t let the e-mail “ding” pull you away from the work you are already doing.

By taking ownership of your e-mail, reducing the number of times you check your e-mail daily, separating the sort and work functions of your e-mail, and incorporating the work delivered by e-mail into the planning of your workday, you will be able to reclaim that extra time, and get out of the office earlier — every day!

Do you have a trick or rule that you use to control your email? 

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC, is CEO of the Egan Group, Inc. An ICF Certified Professional Coach, she is a leading authority on email productivity. She works with companies who want to recover lost time and money due to wasteful email practices. Assess your emailing habits and find great tips on how to manage your email at http://InboxDetox.com.

 

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How Using A Vision Board Can Help You Achieve Small Business Success

By on January 10, 2012 in Business Inspiration, Guest Articles

If you look at personal or small business success, in retrospect, it all started with a goal.  And depending on the size of a goal, there can be a wide spectrum between that goal and what can be defined as “success.”  So how can that gap be bridged so it is manageable and your goal is attainable?

This is where a vision board becomes useful as a tool to facilitate achieving goals.  A vision board brings the concept that “seeing is believing” to life and serves as a powerful catalyst and reinforcement for making big things happen.  Here is how the process works:

Have a goal.  You start with a goal that you have, whether it is big or small.  It may be a short-term goal or even a long-term one. And it can be quantitative or qualitative.  The possibilities are endless here and your aspirations are uniquely yours; so be bold with your dreams!

Have an idea of what it looks like.  This requires visualization which is where a vision board comes in.  With a vision board, you create what your goal will look like by using words, symbols, pictures, etc. to represent your goal or the journey to get there.  Inherent in this process is the translation of your goal from a mental image to something that is more tangible.

Believe in it.  Now that you’re able to see your goal, it becomes more real and more of a possibility.  You begin to believe that it is attainable and that you can have your preferred outcome.

Get others to believe in it.  When you strongly believe in something, you become passionate about it.  As this passionate radiates from you, it becomes contagious.  Others begin to see what you see, they believe in it, they are willing to support you in achieving it, and they hold you accountable.  You develop a support system and network that is committed to your success.

Develop a strategy. Figuring out how you will achieve your goal is important.  Develop actionable steps that will get you there.  Maybe you need to do two things per week, have a certain level of profit each month, or have a certain number of customers each quarter.  Whatever the goal is, you need to have a roadmap.  Seek feedback from your network to avoid tunnel vision.

Act toward your goal.  Once you’re through the preparatory stage, it is time to act.  Take the steps you’ve outlined, but also be open to changes that you may need to make along the way.  Be ready for detours and speed bumps, handle them as they come up and keep forging onward until you reach destination success.

From the beginning of this process through its completion, your vision board serves as a daily reminder as to why you’re putting in hard work and being persistent.  It is a powerful tool that helps facilitate behavioral change and once complimented with your consistent effort and support network, any goal can be achieved.  Take this approach as you plan to take your small business to the next level in 2012.

How has a vision board helped you in the past?  Do you plan to use one in 2012?  Share a link if you already have one!

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain imagination as a businesswoman and artist. ShDasanj Aberdeen founded TheAfter5Edge.com as a platform for encouraging others to optimize their potential by discovering and leveraging their strengths to obtain their competitive edge.  She is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  Follow her on Twitter at: @TheAfter5Edge.

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In Just 365 Days You Can Become Your Own Boss

By on January 9, 2012 in How to Start, Starting A Small Business

If you have always wanted to become your own boss, now is a great time. I realize that you are probably saying to yourself a year, Really? But trust me, 12 months is a reasonable and realistic timeframe to make your transition from employee to entrepreneur. You will want to take the time to plan your success; otherwise you could create a business that feels like a noose around your neck. You can mess around the kill the thought of something you used to love to do. I know that it is so tempting to just quit your job today, but try these steps first before jumping into the shark infested waters known as small business ownership. The reason why I call the waters shark infested is because when you are an entrepreneur, you must kill for your dinner everyday. Here are 6 steps to Become Your Own Boss in 12 months. I also call it the Emerson Planning System.

Develop a life plan: You really need to spend some quality time with yourself.  Create a life planning journal so that you can examine how you life, what you love, what makes you laugh, and what you need to learn. Get clear on how much money you need to make to be happy. Find out what you want out of life and build a business that aligns with that.

Examine your personal finances: Develop a financial plan. Your ability to save has everything to do with your ability to start a business. BYOB stands for be your own bank. Make sure your credit score is 700 or higher and get rid of any debt. You will need to have money to live on while you pursue your entrepreneurial dream. And you need money to launch the business too.

Validate your business concept: Make sure there is a paying customer out there willing to buy your product or service. Test market your idea. Do not start a business people need, start a business people are willing to pay for. Be sure you know what skills you have and need to run your business as well. Don’t start a restaurant if you have never worked in one.

Start with a marketing plan: You need to make sure you know who is going to buy from your company and why? Develop a niche target customer.  People want to hire people who specialize in solving their problem every day.  If everyone can use your product or service no one will.  Pick a niche and own your niche.

Write a business plan: If you want your business to have the best potential chance for success, you need a plan. The best way to create a business plan is with software. There many free options such as www.enloop.com or you can invest in top the line solution such as businessplanpro.com. After you take a crack at it, sign-up for a business plan course make sure that you can complete it.  The finances are usually the toughest part, the course will help you get your initial costs and budget done correctly. You want to make sure you understand how much profit is in every sale.

Start your business as a side-hustle:  Start your business while you are still working, if you can.  It takes 18-36 months to breakeven in a small business. If you start before you quit your job you’ll be closer to making money before your cut off your paychecks.  Learn on someone else’s dime. If there are skills or connections you need to learn to run your business such as computer skills or gaining key industry contacts many times you can get those from your current employer.  Plan your escape from corporate America.

If you follow these simple steps, this time next year you’ll be open for business.

What three things will you do for your business today to make sure you eat tomorrow?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, andMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also bestseller author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. 

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