Tag Archives | melinda emerson

5 Things You Could Do Today to Generate a Sale

By on May 1, 2012 in Business Inspiration, Cash Flow & Finance, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady

Sales GrowthIt’s May.  That means it’s National Small Business Month and it’s time for you to get serious about your business.

Answer these questions about your business: Have you updated your business plan?  Are you using your business plan to run your small business?  Do you have monthly/weekly sales goals?  Do you know by the 15th of the month how well or poorly your business did last month? Are you doing 5 things before 11am each day to jump-start sales and revenue in your business? If your answer is no or not really try these:

Here are 5 things you could do today to generate a sale:

1)    Send an email to a recent customer (within the last two weeks) and ask for a LinkedIn or Yelp recommendation. Be sure to send the link in the email to make it easy for them.

2)    Call a contact that you met at a recent networking event to schedule coffee or a lunch appointment.

3)    Send a personal note to an old customer to check in on them.  Include an article of interest to them, too.

4)    Write a 300-500 word blog post for your business blog.

5)    Evaluate your accounts receivable to see if anyone is 30 days behind in paying you, and give them a call to find out payment status. While you’re on the phone with them, inquire about another order.

May is the busiest time of the year for me, and I have some great free resources for you from some of my corporate customers that will help you as you run your small business.

May 1:  Take a business course for free: I’m the lead instructor for Black Enterprise’s Small Business University: Register for the Small Business University NOW and learn how to build and grow your business! Plus enter for a chance to win more than $50,000 in prizes. It’s not too late to sign up today http://www.blackenterprise.com/sbu/

May 2: 7th annual New York XPO for Business at The Javits Center in NYC. I will be delivering a keynote speech: “Using Social Media to Engage Customers & Drive B2B Success!” My speech is from 4:00 – 5:00 PM. I will teach small business owners how to create a winning online marketing strategy. Register today before it’s sold out.  Here’s a BONUS! FREE 1-DAY XPO PASS REGISTER NOW = http://bit.ly/ubMH61 Promo Code = SPEAKER15

May 8: Live Tweetchat on Twitter Learn How to Build a Social Media Brand to Grow Your Small Business. Stay tuned for details.

May is going to be a great month for being in business. Check back at this blog daily for tools and resources to succeed as your own boss.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady www.twitter.com/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. http://succeedasyourownboss.com/products/purchase-the-book/

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12 Bible Verses Every Small Business Owner Needs For 2012

By on April 9, 2012 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business, My Recommendations, Women in Business

I normally do this post at the top of the year, but I was inspired to wait until now.  With Easter upon us, I though this post would be particularly meaningful at this time of year.   My religious theme for 2012 is, “Either I win or I learn, but with God’s help I never lose.”

I pray that you are inspired by God’s word.  Your faith in yourself and your business are key to your long-term success. Starting a small business is a spiritual journey. You should pick a verse that will inspire you. I thought it would be helpful to share some of my favorites. Use these bible verses in the good and tough times in your small business.

  1. Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.  All of our skills and special talents that we use in our businesses are all given to us by God.  He gives us the ability to make money and cut deals.  He did it for our parents and mentors and he does it for us too.
  2. Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  The bible commands us to be innovative in our businesses. We should not ever try to be like anyone else. The world is still waiting on a better mousetrap, and we should never rest on our successes. We must renew ourselves by being lifelong learners and reading constantly.
  3. I Thessalonians 5:16-19 NIV Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; this is the will of God for your life.  It is important to have a prayerful life as an entrepreneur; it will help you on those days when things do not go your way.  You need to have the strength to thank God, even when you do not win that big contract. God protects us when we do not get opportunities that we think we can’t survive without. Always be grateful.
  4. Proverbs 16:18 NIV Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.  Many entrepreneurs struggle with pride. Do not be afraid to tell clients or employees that you do not know the answer. Try to diffuse any issues with truth and by taking full responsibility for fixing the problem.  Never let your ego get in the way of doing what’s in the best interest of your business.
  5. II Corinthians 9:8 NIV And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. God always delivers to us what we need in order to do our best work.  Sometimes he sends a check we need just in time, and other times he sends us creativity to find the best solution to our challenges. Trust in the Lord at all times.
  6. II Timothy 1:7 NIV For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. Fear is the enemy of entrepreneurship. God wants us to go out with the power he gives us to pursue our ideas in business.
  7. Hebrews 12:11 NIV No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. You must be fiscally disciplined in business. You cannot put all your hard work at risk by not being focused on your big picture goals and your monthly sales goals. It is painful at times, but it will produce quite a harvest.
  8. I Corinthians 9:24 NIV Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Running a business is hard. It’s a marathon not a sprint. There will be plenty of stumbling blocks in your way. Everyone trips and falls while running this race, but winners get up faster than everyone else. You must do what you need to do to win your race.
  9. Mark 5:36 NIV Overhearing what they said, Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” There will be times when you are the only person who believes in your business dream. Don’t be afraid. Believe in yourself and your business idea.
  10. Ecclesiastes 11:4 AMP He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. You must be willing to make decisions in your small business. No one is going to come along and do it for you.  Make hard decisions quickly, so you can move on to doing the work needed to help your customers.
  11. Proverbs 11:14 NIRV Without the guidance of good leaders a nation falls. But many good advisers can save it. It is critical to have a kitchen cabinet of advisors for your small business. Your business will not survive on your experience alone. Pull together four to five people who are invested in your success. The group should include an existing entrepreneur, a customer, a mentor, a lawyer and a accountant. Seek out a mastermind group or peer to peer mentoring program to help as well.
  12. Philippians 4:13 NKJV I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Whenever you struggle with your self-confidence read this bible verse to yourself.  There will be times in your business when you need to force yourself to stretch beyond what you think is possible. You can do it. I believe in you.

Do you have any other bible verses that inspire you? Please share.

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, Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"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 Get New Customers Part II

By on April 3, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Starting A Small Business

There are numerous ways of getting new customers but not all methods are applicable to all businesses. I also need to remind you that getting repeat business from your existing customers is far easier than attracting new customers, but it is important to have a strategy for getting new customers in the door. In Part 1 of this series, I provided a philosophy and an approach for obtaining more business. Choosing your best customer acquisition strategy will be driven by why your customer is buying, their purchase frequency, and how they collect purchase information. In Part 2, the focus is on specific strategies and tactics to create a stampede in your small business.

Here are 7 strategies for getting new customers:

  • Start advertising: You want customers to know you exist – If you have a storefront business that depends on local customers. Consider investing in local online advertising, direct mail, flyers, or local penny-saver ads. You can also do pay per click ads online too. Use calls to action in each advertising initiative to get prospects to contact you. Do not start any advertising program that you can’t maintain for at least six months.
  • Start building a prospect list. One of the key ingredients in a business is having an active prospect list.  One of the best ways to build your list is through your website.  You should have 3-5 ways to engage web visitors to get them to give you their contact information. Create a coupon or giveaway from your website. It could be a special report, free chapter of a book, or audio interview, a 10% off coupon, a free estimate or a giveaway for the first X number of new customers who download the giveaway.
  • Launch a public relations campaign: Your PR campaign should have a story behind it.  The fact that you open your doors is not compelling enough.  Consider having a PR tie-in a local charity, cause or group. For example, my neighbor got a front-page story in our local community paper as a donor of care packages in support of our troops. The article also highlighted her business and her contact information. You can always donate a portion of net proceeds to charity and get a tax write-off too.
  • Use incentives: Give your current customers referral incentives – everybody likes a deal. If an existing customer gets a special discount, cash, or free stuff for recommending a new customer to your business, it creates a winning situation for everyone. Interestingly enough, when you give a surprise benefit to an existing client, like a free pizza after so many purchased or a “no charge” for a regular dry cleaning customer, or free shipping and a discount on future business, customers tell others about these unexpected bonuses.
  • Develop a social marketing strategy: – Like it or not, we are in a digital age and ignoring free marketing tools, such as social networking sites is just plain foolish. You must be googleable! It used to be that all you had to do was build a website, now you need a blog and to have a social media footprint to go with it. No one uses the yellow pages any more. It is pretty common that if we want to know anything about anything we go to the internet. If your business is not there, it can really impact your visibility. Read, read, read and seek out a professional to get you started with social media marketing. Check out my book “Become Your Own Boss In 12 Months” to get more insights on building an online brand.
  • Use Success By Association – Become a part of your industry trade organization, local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, community service organizations, and other groups both local and national. My active membership in the National Speakers Association led to some outstanding business contacts for me. It is very satisfying to learn from peers and fellow business owners.
  • Create recognizable value – If you are in a business where you can provide informational value through articles or newsletters that provide tangible customer benefit, it can lead to getting a new customer and development of a “following”.  Media is always looking for content to sustain itself and to grow. If you have a message of interest, write an article for your local media outlet, notify your local TV or radio station about your unique business and the benefit it brings. Don’t keep your  better mousetrap a secret.

Getting the word out about you and your business will take planning and hardwork and you will sell your faith in your enterprise. It is not always easy to do, but persistence will get you to success.

Do you have any other tactics to share on getting new customers?

Enter the #SMBSolidInk Twitter Sweepstakes! Your Chance to Win a New ColorQube 8700 for Your Small Business! Follow @Xeroxoffice for details http://bit.ly/HsA9Xt

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 smallMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" 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 Do I Get New Customers Part 1

By on April 2, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady, Starting A Small Business

So often I am asked about how to get new customers that I decided to develop a two part series on the topic.  

No customers, no business. A simple and obvious fact, which leads new business owners to ask the question “How do I get customers to see and buy from my business?” The first question to ask yourself is:  Who are your customers and how do they like to buy the kind of products you’re selling? You want to be able to see the “face” of your primary customer. Is it a child, teenager, senior citizen, a techie, “do-it-yourself” person, a woman, a man, or some other demographic? If your target customer is Hispanic, it would not make much sense to advertise your product in an Irish magazine or Jewish website. Knowing your target customer lets you tailor your message to who’s buying.

Is your business a “brick and mortar” storefront? Online? Industry specific? Are you selling pizza, hats or doing software consulting? Your approach to creating “buzz” for your enterprise will vary in each case. If I am selling pizzas, I’ll advertise locally via the web and direct mail to announce specials, offer coupons, and give great friendly service. This business is built on the perception of competitive value-pricing, tasty meals, and ease of ordering on-line or by phone. Your likely customer will be within a few miles of your store and wants quick pick-up or available local delivery. Specials will get new customers in the door, but quality, value and taste will bring them back and get them to tell their friends. Having an online presence is important because it makes it easier for customers to order and to see all of your menu items.

If you are selling hats, you have several marketing options. You can offer hats online showing a variety of styles, perhaps with a buy-one get-one 50% off and free shipping. Consider partnering with local women’s organizations on fashion show fundraisers where you offer a discount on the hats shown. Or you can partner with a local boutique to help them accessorize their outfits — with special prices on your hats.

If you are developing a software consulting business you must position your business carefully. How unique are your programming skills? How much demand is there for what you know? Is a business built on reputation, contacts, networking or SEO? You must have a very targeted audience. You might start by creating a website and brochure outlining your skills and experience and distribute it to your network of contacts online and offline. Look through Information Technology magazine want ads to look for good matches to your qualifications. Sometimes a company looking for an employee might be willing to outsource the services to a company instead.

The underlying philosophy in getting new customers is trying to get them to buy when they have a need or are “in market.” We are “in market” for groceries when we run out of food, or for a new washing machine when the old one finally breaks down, or for another car when the cost to fix our current car is just not worth it anymore. The key is the right offer at the right time to increase the chances that customers will call or come in ready to make a purchase. Some offers must have a seasonal flavor, you don’t sell snow shovels in July, some are timed to days of the week – 30% off on Tuesday or after 3pm, restaurant deals for slow mid-week periods geared to seniors for example. It is also true that sometimes a customer being “in market “ is dependent on future plans for example a home renovation, creating a web site, deciding to plant a garden, to join a gym, or take a vacation. All of these activities typically mean that money is going to be spent and not surprisingly, cost-conscious customers still want that great deal. Now that we have covered the framework for getting new customers, Part 2 of this series will get into specifics of attracting new customers. Remember, choosing your best customer acquisition strategy will be driven by why your customer is buying, their purchase frequency, and how they get their purchase information.

Do you have any ideas to share about how to get new customers?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog.

Melinda F. Emerson, known 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 Your Small Business

By on March 26, 2012 in Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady

Grow Your BusinessFor those small business owners who survived the startup phase and are now ready to grow your business, there are numerous possibilities. Keep in mind, growing your business will depend on what business you are in and how much money, time and sweat equity you’re willing to invest all over again. Here are four ways to kick start growth in your small business.

When thinking about how to grow your business first, consider opening a new location, franchising your business, look for markets overseas by expand globally, and make sure you are taking part the biggest market in the world by expanding on the internet.

Open another location. Your first option for growth is to open an additional location. Now, this can be really tricky. You need to look at the economic environment and trends for indications that theirs is enough business to support an additional location. Make sure your operations, banking an processes are all in order. It will be important to have a strong management team to send into the new location. One of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make is determining how you will finance your expansion.  Choose your new location carefully. Don’t let you wallet drive your decision making or you could end up in the poor house.

Turn your business into a franchise. I recently interviewed Dina Dywer Owens, Former Chair of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and she suggests anyone interested in turning their business into a franchise, check out the free resources at the IFA’s website www.franchise.org.  and hire a professional franchise consultant to help. Now if you are really interested in this growth strategy, you must streamline all your internal systems and marketing processes first. Then, start networking within the franchise community, become a member of the IFA and find a good franchise attorney as well as a mentor who’s been through the franchise process. Here’s more information about how to be successful in a franchise business.

Expand globally. If you are an internet business, you may already have clientele from across the world, but there are many programs and services that will help sell products overseas markets including China, India, South America and across Europe specifically. Check out my recent interview with former under secretary of international trade Frank Lavin on How to Export to China. In most cases to export outside of the US, you’ll need a foreign distributor who’ll carry an inventory of your product and resell it in their domestic markets. Trade groups and foreign chambers of commerce in the U.S., are good places to find distributors. Also check out the government’s website businessusa.gov which is a great resource for small businesses looking to export outside the US.

Expand on the Internet. Are You Googleable? In many business circles, if you can’t be found on the internet you do not exist.  Make sure that you have a useful website that tells people how to hire you within 3 seconds of arrival onto your home page.  Think of your website as the front door to your business. Be sure that you use an e-commerce solution such as shopify.com or bigcommerce.com that also has the ability to mirror your online store on your facebook fan page. An online store will bring you customers that your brick and mortar business could never reach.

Do you want more great ideas for business growth? Sign up for my Free Webinar March 29th 1-2pm ET on How to Better Communicate With Your Target Customers http://bit.ly/wPX0SV

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, sheMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"
develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine recently named her one of the Top 20 women for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)


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How to Communicate Your Business Vision

By on March 19, 2012 in Branding & Marketing, Business Inspiration, How to Start

As a business leader, it’s your job to craft a vision for your business. Once you know what that is, you need to be able to communicate it to a wide audience including your customers and your employees. Even the interns need to know. Why? Because your need to share a vision that everyone understands, can relate to — and ultimately believe in. Here are five ways to communicate your business vision.

Share Your Vision With Everyone. To be effective, you’ll need to rally people around your vision.   You will need to keep saying it to remind your team of your message to reinforce what you are trying to achieve.  You’ll need to do this constantly to keep everyone focused. Don’t worry about sounding like a broken record, after all it is your business.

Use Storytelling: When you tell a story, you give life to your vision. The telling of stories creates trust, touches people’s hearts and minds, and serves as a reminder of the vision. It is also a great way to make your vision relatable to anyone. Your team will find it a lot easier to repeat a story than a vision statement.

Don’t be Afraid to Share: Sometimes we, as entrepreneurs come up with ideas that may seem far-fetched to others.  Do not let that stop you from telling people your vision.  When you speak it out loud, you speak it into existence.  I remember back in 2007, when I told people I was going to be “America’s #1 Small Business Expert,” at the time I am sure some of them may have thought, can she really do that? or they may have thought I was crazy. We’ll who looks crazy now? You must be willing to share ideas people have never heard of.

Be Brief: Learn to share your vision like it is an elevator pitch. Every business leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a clear, brief way. Can you describe your compelling vision in the amount of time you have during a typical elevator ride? Your pitch should highlight your solution, your target audience and your niche focus. Try to keep it to two minutes of less.

Be Flexible: Don’t feel like you have to have all the answers. As an entrepreneur one of the most important things that you must do is evolve. Be sure to create dialogue around your message so that people feel comfortable to share suggestions and help you take your vision to the next level.

Put out calls to action. Don’t just tell people what you imagine for the future, ask for their help in making it a reality, and be specific about what you want people to do and why.

When you are think about how to communicate your vision first, create a strong vision and communicate it to everyone. Use storytelling to help people visualize your vision. Have the courage to share your vision. Be brief, and willing to take suggestions that could take your vision to the next level. When you put out calls to action, and assign specific roles you want your team to play in your success.

Are you looking for ways to better communicate with your target customers? Don’t miss my FREE webinar sponsored by Pitney Bowes March 29th 1-2pm ET Register today http://www2.pbsmartessentials.com/how-to-better-communicate-with-your-customers

Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"

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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When You’ve Done All You Can, Get Up!

By on March 12, 2012 in Business Inspiration, Grow Your Business

There comes a time in every entrepreneur’s life when you just catch a bad break.  You work really hard on a deal. You thought it was yours. Then at the last minute, after nearly a year-long sales process, you loose the contract. This especially stings when you’ve spent hours studying the customer and cultivating an internal advocate over lunches and dinners. You tracked the incumbent vendor and shaved you margin as much as you could to get the business. It feels like a kick in the gut when it slips right through your fingers.

After you get over the initial shock, this becomes one of those days that makes you wonder why you are even in business. You probably feel like nobody loves you and no one seems to care.  When it happens the first time, you might not be sure how to handle this, particularly if you are one of those small business owners who takes things personally. Your business is your baby after all, who can blame you, Right! Not really. The sooner you learn not to take these things personally, the better you will handle it when things don’t go as planned.

I know this pain.  During the early years of running my first company Quintessence Multimedia it happened several times, and it hurts—a lot.  I remember one time in particular, there was an advertising agency we had been chasing nearly a year. Once day we got a call and that they wanted us to fly down to Austin, TX to discuss a specific project.  At the time, things were tight financially and we really needed this opportunity.  When we got there, the client invited us to dinner and then stuck us with the check.  Then the next day, as we were presenting our capabilities, I knew five minutes into the meeting that these people had no intention of doing business with us. They had wasted our time and our money, and I was furious. I actually lost it that day on our host after the meeting. I later found out that one of our corporate advocates had asked their agency to meet with us, but a real business opportunity was not promised.  I learned a lesson that day about how to qualify customers, and that people have no problem wasting your time.

After it happened, I reached out to a mentor to complain, and she told me something that has always stayed with me. She said, ”When things don’t happen that is God’s way of protecting you from something or someone.” I took what she said to heart, but then I felt so defeated every time we got the rug pulled out from under us.   I know that many of you have felt the same way, maybe even recently.

This past week, I heard Olympic ski medalist, amputee, and author Bonnie St. John speak at a women’s history month event.  Now, Ms. St. John is a one-legged Olympic skier, and she talked about how she won her first medals.  She said in downhill skiing you needed to compete in two races to win a medal.  After the first race in 1984 Paraolympics, she was in first place in gold medal position, but the second race was on a different course. Word from the field was that there was an icy spot on the course, and some people had wiped out, and one woman had been taken to the hospital. Bonnie said as she started her second race, she was doing well hitting her stride, and all of a sudden she hit the ice. She fell, and said she felt like crawling off the track. But something in her said get up.  She got up and finished the race and earned a Bronze medal. She’s said, ”Everybody falls, but winners get up.”  She later said the woman who won the gold medal had fallen too, but she got up faster.

In our businesses, there will be many times when we get knocked down, but successful entrepreneurs get up faster than the competition.

Do you have a suggestion for how to handle major disappointment in a business?

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, sheMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" 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 bloghttp://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the bestselling author ofBecome Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.

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Getting Ready For Opening Day in Your Small Business

By on March 5, 2012 in How to Start, Social Media

Opening Your Business Now you are just about ready to get  business cards, mail out the flyers, turn on the phones, run those ads on Facebook and use whatever way possible to tell the world you are “Open for Business.” It is a moment of both joy and fear.  The hard work of the planning your business now transitions to the even harder work of running the business.  The opportunity to fail is always present. It is okay to look over your shoulder and pay attention to fundementals.

What do you need to do to have a great opening?  A sales strategy and an a marketing plan to support it!

As you move closer to opening day of your business deciding the best way to let the world know about your new company is critical to your success. One way to decide the best strategy is to take a hard look at your competition.  Examine what they are doing, and how you can top it. Fortunately, there are many options for communicating with your target customers (Some are more expensive than others.) Many effective communications techniques include; social networking, internet advertising, community tabloids, sampling, and local newspapers. Regardless of the target customer selected to focus on, your marketing activities should do three things:

(1) Gain attention and interest,

(2) Inform and/or persuade,

(3) Eventually lead to a purchase or other desired action.

Consider these marketing tactics:

Claim Your Social Media Profiles 

  • Advantages

Mobile advertising is increasing significantly. The rise in geo-specific social networking is increasing in popularity.  You want to make  sure that you protect your brand on the big four social media sites (Google +,  Facebook Fan Page,  Twitter and LinkedIn)and claim all of the relevant geolocation profiles too such as Google Places, Facebook Places, Foursquare, etc.

  • Disadvantages

There are none. Social networking accounts are free. You pay with your time, so be strategic.

Consider internet  advertising  or pay per click ads (PPC).

  • Advantages

Facebook Ads and Google ad words are the most common internet advertising. These ads can be low cost or expensive, but you can give yourself a weekly budget and control what you are spending per click. The customer is typically looking for what you are selling. It can be fairly low cost to start and can be tailored to highly specialized products and services. You can reach people when they are actively looking for information about your products and services online, and send targeted visitors directly to what you are offering. Search engines like Google, BING, Yahoo and others can provide some in depth information on how to set up your ads and even how to open an online store.

  • Disadvantages

Costs can be related directly to the number of people who click on your ad. Competing with more established businesses can be frustrating and costly venture for small business too. With many businesses selling the same products and services, certain key words can be significantly more expensive.  Small business may not have the resources to pay for paid directory inclusion, pay per click ads often have to rely solely on search engine optimization or word of mouth to drive traffic to their sites.

Direct Mail: Direct mail is still an effective way to get more customers.

  • Advantages

If you send a bulky mailer,  an odd-shaped package, you will pique their curiosity and urge them to open it.  You can include a promotional gift in your bulky mailer that ties into your campaign. Be sure that your mail piece is relevant and include basic personalization: Make sure that the information in your contact management system is up to date and that you personalize every mailer.

  • Disadvantages

It’s expensive for postage and the printed materials and you must make sure that you have a quality mailing list.

Publish shopper ads in free tabloids. Many are distributed locally through mailings, or  in shopping malls and other outlets.

  • Advantages

Low cost, targeted geographic distribution.

  • Disadvantages

Ad clutter – because of the size and the number of ads, some of which will be your direct competitors, could make it difficult for your products/services to stand out in this type of publication. It is often discarded because it is free and considered “junk”. It may not be ideal for your target demographic – teenagers for example.

Consider donating your product or service to a community group of potential customers.

  • Advantages

Recently, a neighbor of mine who sells cosmetic products to women in their  homes, was featured in a local publication for donating products to veterans from Iraq. She appeared on the front page and was recognized by the publication for  her outstanding commitment to our troops. As a side benefit, she also got some serious recognition for her business and some new customers!

  • Disadvantages

Virtually, none if you can afford to donate products or services. Nothing prevents a business from earning PR, while doing good and doing well at the same time.

Place classified ads in local community newspapers or newsletters. 

  • Advantages

Its primary advantage is flexibility because advertising can vary from one locale to the next. In a typical location, a single local newspaper can reach up to 50% of all homes and apartments and unlike radio or TV, readers can go back and refer to an ad of interest.  Start your campaign with small test ads and gradually expand as they prove effective. If you have a line of items, feature the one or two that you think will have the most customer interest or show a big per cent off sale or significant dollar reduction off regular price. Just take a look at today’s paper to see what might make sense for your business.

  • Disadvantages

The readership of newspapers is going down. Newspapers have a short life-span, hasty reading, and relatively poor reproduction quality. Newspapers also have to struggle to get through the “clutter” of other advertising media like direct mail, magazines, the internet and others. Costs can also be an issue – shop carefully for the size ad that you need and see if any demographic information is available so that you can target your ad to the audience with the best chance for sales.

Finally, the most effective communication, especially if your business is retail or service based is word-of-mouth referrals. If you are known by reputation, for example, to be an excellent car mechanic and you decide to open your own shop, there is a pretty good chance that you have a “following.” Customers who will want your services just based on the quality of your work. This is something you often see with beauty and barber shops announcing a new operator in the local paper or sometimes a car dealership announcing a new salesperson who used to be at a competitors’ location.

The main focus of this article is to help you create public excitement around your enterprise. Building a better mousetrap is great but unless you tell someone, that mousetrap is available your product or service may lie in obscurity, unsold. Your message must convey the enthusiasm that you bring to the table – if you are fired up, always talking about your business, your enterprise is destined for success!

Do you have any opening day marketing tips to share?

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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Are You The Right President For Your Small Business?

By on February 20, 2012 in Grow Your Business




When I first started thinking about President’s Day this year, I thought it would be helpful to blog about being an effective business leader.

Whenever you start a company, you have the right to be the president. After all, it is your company.  It was your idea, your seed capital, your contacts that got the business off the ground, but is that the best idea for your business?  There may come a time in your business when you realize that perhaps you are not the right person to lead the charge anymore. It takes a true leader to recognize that, and more so to do something about it. Are you a big enough leader to put your ego aside and do what’s in the best interest of the business?  Here are five signs to look for when its time to bring in help to run the business.

Chronic burnout – If you are stressed out just thinking about going into the office, try going on a real vacation first. If the condition persists, start looking to see if anyone on your staff has the skills to be elevated to management.  If that is not an option, start searching for an appropriate manager to hire in your business.

Growing pains – If you started with one location and now you have four locations and 50 or more employees, you are now running a much bigger business than what you started. You have no time to be proactive or strategic about anything, because you always reacting to things and putting out fires. You feel breathless at the end of each day.  Your business has grown beyond your personal skill set.

Uneducated – Now, I’m certainly not one that believes everyone who starts a business needs to be an MBA (I’m not one), but knowledge is power. If the last time you took a class was high school or even 10 to 25 years in college, you need to update your business skills.  Since the beginning of the great recession in 2008, the nature of business has changed.  Your industry has probably changed, and technology has changed that way we all do business.  Get yourself some education and hire some educated managers to help you.  Professional development is a key element of business success.

Is selling an option? – If one day you want to sell your business, than you must get yourself in a position where your business runs without you.  You must have systems and managers in place who run the day-to-day operations.  When you accomplish this you will transition from being an entrepreneur to running a business, and that’s what you want.  Entrepreneurs work 14-16 hours days and can never can leave the office. People who run businesses can go on vacation, get the little league game, and sleep well at night.

Have an honest conversation with yourself.  Are you still the right person to be calling all the shots in your business? Hiring a business manager is not a dirty word. It is exhausting to make all the decisions in a small business. Hire smart people and empower them to make decisions and help you run your business.

Did this piece hit a pain point for you? Please tell him if this issue is affecting your business.

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 Melinda Emerson "SmallBizLady"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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What Whitney Houston Can Teach Us All About Business

By on February 13, 2012 in Business Inspiration

Whitney Houston dead at age 48

Over the last few days the world has been reeling over the untimely death of pop icon Whitney Houston.  As a teenager I grew up on a steady diet the late singer’s hits.  My favorites  among them are Greatest Love of All, Saving All My Love For You, I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You from the iconic Bodyguard movie soundtrack.

I can remember singing Greatest Love of All as a solo in a school program.  I also competed in a regional talent show singing One Moment in Time. I even wanted hair extensions like hers after I saw the Wanna Dance With Somebody music video. This woman had model good looks and became the voice of our time. She clearly had a God-given talent.

While we all mourn her tragic death, buy all of her seven albums from itunes and amazon.com, and share our favorite Whitney songs on Twitter, two things occurred to me.  First of all, we all need to pray for Houston’s family, particularly for Bobbi Kristina.  That little girl has lost her #1 fan, and she is at a critical stage in her development. Secondly, I can’t help but think about how Whitney lived and what she always sang about and how that could help us all be better business owners.

The theme in all of Whitney’s music was LOVE.  She sang about finding love, searching for love, treasuring love, being every woman, losing love and looking to the Lord for love. From saving all my love for you, to how loving yourself is the greatest love of all and how she wanted to dance with somebody who loved her, how she had nothing if she did have her love, and how she will always love.  The constant thread in her music was a need and want for Love.

As entrepreneurs there are some common characteristics we share that cause us to kill our love relationships. I wanted to encourage all entrepreneurs to prioritize the loves in your life, your friends, children and your sweeties or spouses.  Work hard to make sure that these people know that they are loved and appreciated by you.

As a group, we tend to be tough and opinionated. We are often workaholics, and at times can take out our day on the people we love. Here are some techniques that will help you protect and strengthen those you love.

1) Be Patient: Regular people  with jobs do not understand people like us. Be patient with your spouse and family.

whitney houstonThey could not envision going into business, but that doesn’t mean you get to be an irritating know-it-all jerk. Explain stuff so they understand what you do and why you work so hard. Keep in mind that as small business owners, we are typically over achievers, so regular people do not run as fast or jump as high as we do.

2) Find a way to relax: Work hard, but play hard. Part of the reason why so many entrepreneurs are divorced is because we do not know how to relax.  I use Yoga to calm down.  It’s easy to blame everyone but yourself for your problems.  Work hard not to take out your day on your husband, wife or your children.  Show your  appreciation often and be spontaneous.

3) Go out to non-work stuff : Work events are different from business events.  It’s important to keep dating your spouse.  Try to attend a non-work related events once a month, invite your spouse and or the boyfriend or girlfriend to come along. Or allow him or her to pick an event or restaurant to go to.  As entrepreneurs sometimes we can make it all about us, make it about them too.

4) Ask for a referral: Get help with your search for love. If you want to start focusing on your love life, start asking your business contacts, friends and family for a quality referrals for a blind date.  Let someone who knows you introduce you to someone great.

Whitney Houston will be remembered as the best female solo artist of all time. Goodbye sweet angel, I pray that you are enjoying heaven’s choir and that your daughter will find her way.  Thank you for reminding us all about the power of LOVE.

Do you have any other relationship tips that you learned from Whitney Houston’s music?

Melinda F. Emerson, SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasonedMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. Forbes Magazine named her the No. 1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter from 8 to 9 p.m. ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource  blog  http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Melinda is also bestselling 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 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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SmallBizLady Q&A How to Build a Powerful Online Brand

By on January 30, 2012 in Branding & Marketing

 

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 do not exist. That may seem harsh, but think about how we all buy things now. We do not call 411, or look in the yellow pages, we all go look for information in search engines such as google.

As someone who has a powerful brand on the internet, I have recently been interviewed a few times about building an online brand and more specifically how I built the SmallBizLady brand and I thought the information might be helpful to all of you. So here’s the full interview.

1) Why does everyone whether they are in a career or business for themselves need to be aware of their online image? 

Every 30 days people should Google themselves to see what is being said about them on the internet.  If they Google themselves and nothing comes up that is a problem too.  Everyone with a business or a job should at least have a LinkedIn profile, and if you run a business you should have a website.  If you are really trying to build an online brand, I would also add Google profile, and Facebook Fan page to that as well.

 

2) How does one go about developing a strategy to build a brand online? 

 

To build an online brand you must use the HELP mantra: Help Others, Engage People, Listen Carefully and Promote Yourself With Care. Traditional selling is dead.  Your valuable content and helpful sharing will do the selling for you. No one wants to hear or read “Buy my stuff, buy my stuff,” they want to read about how you can solve their most pressing issue.

 

3) What is your advice for one trying to build their brand online?

 

Before you do anything online, you need to identify your niche target customer.  Then you should employ a listening strategy to figure out where your target customer spends time online. Research the keywords people use most to search for your topic, service or product. Then develop your content strategy for how you will stand out in the marketplace.

 

4) How important is it to choose the right social networks? Which ones work best for what, ie. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc.? 

 

In order to build an online brand you must first figure out where your target client spends time online, and become a part of the conversation.  Everyone does not have to be doing everything. LinkedIn is perfect for people who need to network with senior executives and decision makers.  Facebook personal accounts are great of keep in contact with family and friends.  Facebook groups and fan pages are great for engaging with retail customers. Google+ is also becoming a major factor in communicating with your entire social rolodex, particularly if you are blogging.

 

Twitter is terrific for establishing thought-leadership and building community online.  I convene my #Smallbizchat community live each week on Twitter, which has been a major factor in growing my online community. Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. You can post text messages, photos, quotes, links, music and video from email and from any devices. I chose Twitter and LinkedIn to build my brand when I got started.  I also used blogging as a key strategy to demonstrate my expertise and keep my website updated.

 

5) How important is messaging in social media? Should one stay on message at all times? When is it OK to go off message and be ‘social’?

 

It is critical to stay on message. It should be obvious who your customer is by what you share online and what you write on your blog.  You can not write a blog about being an expert image consultant and the next day blog about a cat caught in a tree in your backyard.  You will confuse people.  I think it is important share personal things about yourself, so that people know that you are a real person but be strategic. Nobody cares what you had for breakfast.

 

6) Are there any special tools or apps on any social media sites that you would recommend? why?

 

I like www.Hootsuite.com to manage all my social media accounts. You can have up to 5 social accounts. I also have a virtual assistant that helps me manage my blog and some social media updating.

 

7) How does one go about earning a community of subscribers, followers, friends, etc?  

 

Content is currency online.  In order to attract subscribers, followers, likes and connections you need to add value to the conversation, create valuable blog content and engage the people who like your content.

 

8) How important is it to be discreet or cautious online? Any tips on what should be put online and what shouldn’t be? 

 

You should not post anything online that you wouldn’t want to read in the newspaper.  Everything on the internet can be found forever. Watch the loose talk on Facebook especially. 

 

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 businessMelinda Emerson "SmallBizLady" 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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