SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com » Branding & Marketing

How to Reinvent Your Small Business Brand – #SmallBizChat Q&A

Melinda Emerson, #SmallBizChat — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:42:53 +0000

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 Branding Strategist @DeborahShane. Deborah is the Author of Career Transition-make the shift and a nationally published writer and speaker. She hosts a [...]

How to be a Successful Freelancer

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:30:02 +0000

Most 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, [...]

Public Speaking: The Original Social Media

Melinda Emerson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:30:50 +0000

You’re blogging. You’re tweeting. You’re facebooking. You’re creating videos and articles and ezines. All of that is great but let’s not forget that social media is – first and foremost – social! It’s personal. And that person is YOU. The ultimate test of a thought-leader is the answer to one simple question: When you open [...]

SmallBizLady Q&A How to Build a Powerful Online Brand

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:30:29 +0000

How to become a powerful social media brand is a major factor in small business success these days. Beyond having a website, you need to make sure that you are out there demonstrating your expertise at every opportunity. There are those who believe that if they can’t find you or your business online, you [...]

How To Use Trends Data To Grow Your Small Business

Melinda Emerson, #SmallBizChat — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:00:44 +0000

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 Rieva Lesonsky @Rieva is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company specializing in covering small businesses and entrepreneurship. Before co-founding GrowBiz [...]

Branding Your Small Business

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:30:18 +0000

Branding is about getting your customers to see your company as an important key provider in addressing their needs and gives you a real competitive advantage. Once you have done thorough market research and checked out the competition, it is time to start developing your brand identity. Your brand is the name, design, or distinctive [...]

5 Tips to Create a Successful 2012 Marketing Budget

Melinda Emerson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:30:07 +0000

It isn’t 2012 just yet. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be planning for it. For any business to be successful, it’s necessary to have a marketing budget. And while next year seems like a far off notion today, there is no better time to start establishing how you’ll invest your marketing dollars. Below are [...]

What Can Twitter Do For Your Small Business?

Melinda Emerson — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:22:53 +0000

I signed up for a Twitter account three years ago, and it truly changed my life. My Twitter anniversary was on December 2nd, and I thought it might be helpful for me to explain what my goals were for the social network. Now is a perfect time to step up your game on Twitter or [...]

How to Inspire More Digital Referrals

Melinda Emerson, #SmallBizChat — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:55:37 +0000

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wed on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Howard Yermish @hyermish, an expert in Internet strategy, website development, speaker and private trainer. His new project, “More Digital Referrals” is [...]

How to Build a One-Person Franchise Business

Melinda Emerson — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:30:08 +0000

The topic of equity isn’t exactly what I’d call, “top of mind,” with most of the prospective franchise owners that I work with as an advisor. Most of their energy is focused on things like potential locations for the franchises that they’re considering, or other minor details; like how much they’re going to make as [...]