What are entrepreneurship characteristics? It’s an important question when you’re considering self-employment. It’s natural to want to know if you have what it takes before you move forward.
Ask yourself these important questions: Are You a Visionary? A primary difference between an employee and an entrepreneur is motivation. Some people are perfectly happy doing the same job or working in the same industry until retirement. They find the consistency comforting, but for others, it’s not enough. Entrepreneurs see new or better ways of doing things and won’t settle for the status quo if it ignores a gap in the marketplace or performs less than optimally. This drive for innovation and change can get them in trouble in a traditional job since their bosses may misinterpret their ideas as criticism. Entrepreneurs are often outspoken, opinionated, and demanding. Entrepreneurs can’t understand why others don’t see their vision and they crave success in many ways, including a better work/life balance.
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Scheduling tools, on the other hand, make life much easier. They have tons of convenient features like media libraries and hashtag suggestions, and they allow you to schedule the same post on multiple platforms.
2. Do your hashtag research beforehand Nothing’s worse than almost being ready to hit the “schedule” button on your posts, only to realize you forgot about hashtags. Find hashtags that fly slightly under the radar – the more popular the hashtag, the bigger the competition. Keep a list of your go-to hashtags and use them in tandem with post-specific ones. You’ll cut down on research time while keeping your hashtag strategy fresh. 3. Work in batches Bouncing around from task to task is a great way to hurt your overall productivity. When you focus on one task at a time, it’s easier to get “in the zone.” Break the process down into batches. Take one day to write your social media posts. Take a break, then create all your graphics. Then do your hashtag research. Once you’re done, it will take no time at all to pop everything into your scheduling tool. 4. Have a folder of go-to images Whether you’re scavenging through a messy Google Drive folder or searching for images on stock photo sites, organization is the key. Clean up that photo folder ASAP. Spend an hour or two creating a photo library with shots from your favorite stock photo site. Don’t waste time scrambling for photos at the last minute; have a robust folder of ready-to-go photo options to simplify your scheduling process. 5. Post at the best possible times If you’re going to schedule social media content, you better schedule it to go out at the best possible time. That’s another benefit of scheduling tools – many of them suggest the best times to post on each platform. If you’re looking to boost your social media engagement stats, this is one easy step that could make a huge impact. Of course, the easiest (and most effective) way to schedule your social media content is to outsource it! Looking for help with your social scheduling, strategy, management and more? We’d love to hear from you. ![]() Sports and business have a lot in common. It doesn’t matter what sport you play; the objective is to win. Similarly, it doesn’t matter what kind of business you operate, you want to win. Winning in sports could mean ending with the most points or arriving at a destination faster than the rest. In the business world, winning might be outselling a competitor or having world-class customer service. Parallels exist at the leadership level in sports and business. A great coach is often synonymous with a great team. Comparably, outstanding businesses are commonly led by exceptional leaders. What great leaders do differently
Although some leaders make success appear effortless, businesses don’t just become successful by accident. It’s the leader’s vision that not only puts the game in play but keeps the momentum going. Great leaders know how to scout talent. Sure, they may delegate the talent search to a member of their team (i.e., human resources), but they do so with a strong list of criteria they are looking for in each candidate. Leaders are looking to fill roles, but not just any ordinary person will do - - they want the “one.” Even after hiring the right person to fill a role, great leaders aim to fully develop those team members. They aren’t satisfied with the status quo; they know the success of the team is contingent upon the successful development of individuals. Positioning Filling roles is only part of the equation. After finding the right people, great leaders make sure to position their team members in a way that results in the best outcomes. Observing Like a coach watching a tactical play, great leaders are always observing the flow of business and keeping an eye out for opportunities for improvement or growth. They recognize areas of strength and areas in need of improvement. They are continuously analyzing whether the best strategy is a complete overhaul of a team or to simply swap out one aspect of the process. Communicating It’s one thing for a leader to be able to communicate with team members. It’s something else entirely to teach team members how to effectively communicate with each other. Clear communication is imperative in sports and business. However, communication doesn’t always come naturally. Therefore, great leaders will set expectations for communication by modeling good communication on their end. Great leaders know no one gets anywhere by expecting people to read minds. Motivating You’d be hard-pressed to hear a coach telling a team “This game is no big deal,” or a business leader saying: “This client doesn’t really matter.” Coaches and business leaders won’t disregard any role as unimportant or irrelevant; they will tell each player the expectation for performance. Motivation doesn’t always need to be a loud, inspirational pep talk. Many great leaders quietly motivate their team. Team members of great leaders know the walk is always more important than the talk. Becoming A Great Leader You don’t need to be the coach of a championship sports team to be an outstanding leader; you can be a great leader in business. In fact, all you really need is to keep your focus on the fact that great leaders are always surrounded by great teams who look up to them, trust them, and know trust is a two-way street. Great leaders scout talent to fill roles, position, and reposition, observe and analyze, communicate, and motivate. Think like a great leader, act like a great leader, and your team will see you as a great leader. ![]() Printed marketing and sales materials play a crucial role in securing customers for your business. Unfortunately, too many businesses use the “set it and forget it” method of creating collateral. While some pieces can be used for a while without trouble, others might quickly become outdated. We rely so much on our websites and social media that sometimes those materials are forgotten, yet they are being passed around to potential customers all the time. It’s smart for businesses to get in the habit of auditing their printed materials and refreshing them regularly. Even something as simple as your business card may be due for an update! Why should you audit your collateral?
Using fresh, up-to-date marketing and sales collateral ensures that you accurately represent your brand to customers. These materials should speak to your brand, demonstrate what your business does, and showcase your current offerings. If your print materials are irrelevant, it can cause confusion or frustration among buyers. Depending on how much your branding or your business has changed (think Covid-19), the materials might not even be effective for your target market at all! If your goal is to persuade customers to make a purchase, you want to ensure your messaging is both accurate and fresh. When should you do a collateral audit? It’s a good idea to revisit these materials every three months, or once a season. Not only will this help your team catch necessary updates, but it also allows you to capitalize on seasonal promotions and align with seasonal trends in your industry. There are other times you may want to update, or better yet create seasonal materials you can stock and reuse. Change or add:
![]() Do I need to know a Kardashian? I recently read a book about Harry and Meghan and found it interesting that Meghan Markle made moves early in her career to align herself with influencers, and then became one herself, launching The Tig. So, the answer to the question above is NO, you do not need to know a Kardashian or a Megan Markle to align yourself with influencers. Over the years, influencer marketing has become an immense part of the marketing landscape. Honestly, I had to do my due diligence to learn more. Influencer marketing often sounds too good to be true, but the numbers don’t lie — on average, for every $1 businesses spend on influencer marketing, they make $18.
New to influencer marketing? Confused as to exactly what it entails? You’re not alone. It is something new to my range of services too. The term “influencer” is tossed around a lot, and it’s not always clear what it means, so let me share what I have learned. First, what’s an influencer? The term “influencer” is shorthand for social media influencer. A social media influencer is a person who has gained credibility in a certain niche. Today, influencer marketing is a method of choice for top-tier brands around the world, but it wasn’t always this way. For a while, it was considered nothing more than a passing trend. One thing you need to know: you do not need to be a national company to benefit from this type of marketing. It can be done on a local level, using local influencers. Simply stated, local influencers are bloggers, reviewers, and social media personalities who are based in the same area as your business. Going to in-person events can help you put a face to a name. Of course, we are still in the midst of a global pandemic. And now is not the time for me to talk about networking to meet influencers. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to meet influencers. One option is to use an influencer marketplace or platform. These let you search for creators and influencers within a certain distance of your region. You can further narrow your search by looking for influencers who are in a certain age range, and who are interested in certain topics. The workplace in 2021 requires employers to rethink priorities and development of necessary skill sets. Businesses should embrace a dynamic approach to reskilling talent as new skills become relevant and necessary.
Twenty-twenty was a stressful year for many of us. With the arrival of 2021, everyone has seen the need and desire for empathy, compassion, and connection. Now is the time to project optimism and lead with compassion and approach our customers with empathy.
Your customers become your greatest assets and ambassadors when they see you genuinely care about them. Compassionate businesses grow a passionate and loyal community of partners. Here are some key positions for your business to introduce:
Remember, passionate customers are loyal customers. Loyal customers are consistent customers. And consistent customers get us through inconsistent times. Email campaigns and newsletters are still important and cost-effective. However, today, email campaigns must be targeted, relevant, and break through the noise and hurdles of our inboxes. Gone are the days of effectively reaching your audience with mass emails. To be effective, with everything that everyone is receiving, you need to really answer the following questions:
1. Did you find the right contacts? Before you even start the email process, you must find the right contacts for outreach. It’s crucial that you identify your desired audiences. 2. Are the email addresses accurate? An email will not be received unless you have the right data. Therefore, you must have strong data and find any that may be missing. This will ensure the right email gets to the right contact; simple human error can switch letters in an address. 3. Will your email be viewed or put into spam? If your email went to the correct address, did it hit their inbox or their spam? Check your emails against an email spam system before you hit send. New email spam systems pop up all the time, so go online and search for tools that can check to see if the email that you’re sending looks like spam. If it does look like spam, then it gets scored like spam and it’s never going to be seen. Email spam systems break your email down, telling you what’s wrong, and allowing you to fix it. 4. Will your emails be read? Spam emails can also be uncovered by simply reading them. It’s fairly obvious when an email looks like spam. During a webinar with Cirrus Insight, RingLead CEO Donato Diorio did a spam test, where he showed four emails and asked the audience for the one that wasn’t spam. He displayed each email on screen for 10 seconds. More than 50% found the non-spam email. As humans, we’re able to determine whether an email is spam by the visual structure … in seconds. 5. Is the email well written? Writing emails to potential customers can be one of the most difficult tasks for any marketer. Remember grammar is important and always be professional. 6. Did you grab their attention? Now we shift our focus to the content of the email. It’s reaching your audience, but is it interesting? Should they care? Are you targeting the right demographic? The message, audience, and content need to grab attention. 7. When do you plan to send the email? There really is a right and wrong time to send an email. Sometimes, the timing doesn’t matter. But do you know the difference? A detail as seemingly trivial as the timing of an email can determine whether a lead responds. Take a few minutes to do some research and it may make all the difference. 8. Do you have tracking in place and are you going to look at it? We’re in an age where sending emails blindly will no longer cut it. In order to thrive, you need to know which email strategies are most effective. The way to do that is through analytics. Create dashboards showing email opens and customer engagement and check it often. Only then will you be able to correctly follow-up. |
Boost Your BusinessMaria NovakI have over 35 years' experience in Marketing Small Businesses. Categories
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