For a small business owner, taking a vacation often depends on staying ahead of clients’ needs. You can’t afford to let things slip or have radio silence reign in your absence. I’ve always found that clients appreciate an entrepreneur who makes every effort to maintain continuous service no matter what time of year it is. However, that doesn’t have to mean skipping your vacation(s)! Some clients are wonderful, and understand that everyone needs a break now and then. Others may have (unrealistically) high expectations and not want to see any break in the service they receive from your business. You…
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Seminars are a staple in the business world. The problem is that seminars are expensive and somewhat inconvenient affairs that, although useful and informative, sometimes only attract limited audiences. But today, thanks to the power of technology, anyone can reach a much wider audience around the world! Using a real-time video conference, known as a webinar, small business owners can give a much more cost-effective talk. A webinar is basically an online seminar. It offers your clients a real-time connection to you; they actually hear you speak and can respond through chat. With the option for anyone in the world…
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Product launches are exciting for small business owners, whether they’re for a new webinar, e-book, online course, or physical product. Seeing the results of your labor being used and appreciated by dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of people, is extremely satisfying! However, it’s also a lot of work to get to the point of launch, especially if you’re doing everything on your own. [Tweet “Make a big deal about your launch! Think Facebook ads and online promotions to mark the occasion.”] Have you ever looked at other entrepreneurs and wondered how they get new products ready to launch so quickly?…
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Have you been meeting the goal or goals you set for your small business this year? Is something holding you back from making progress? Back in January, I talked about the importance of setting actionable goals and checking in on them regularly. Consider this your check-in if you’ve fallen off the wagon already! Even if you’re sticking to and completing your goals, I hope you’ll find this article useful for the goal revision strategies. Plus, at the end of this post, you can download my Goal Check-In Worksheet to help guide your check-in process. [Tweet “Hard data shows that business…
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The start of a new year always gets people motivated to make changes in their life, work on personal and professional development, and try new things. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle to stay on track with their resolutions, and most get broken or forgotten by the time February rolls around. Maybe you broke them already? The last thing you want as a small business owner is for your new business goals to meet the same fate as that resolution to lose 5 pounds or eat more vegetables! [Tweet “It’s a new year, full of new opportunities to grow your…
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At this busy time of year, the idea of work-life balance can seem almost laughable, especially for anyone who runs a small business. With seemingly endless tasks popping up, parties, family commitments, and more, the last weeks of the year are difficult to prepare for. However, taking space from your work is important, more so now than at any other time of year. Because so many others—including business owners and many of your own clients—take time away from the office during December, they’ll be more understanding than you’d expect when you let them know you’ll be taking a week or…
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Do you have the right team in place to support your business? Your goals probably involve the growth of your business, taking on new clients, expanding your services or product line, tackling more and larger projects, etc. No small business owner wants to get stuck in a rut or have their business stagnate. However, growth means more work. A lot of small business owners view hiring an additional person to work on their business as a scary prospect. They worry about paying a salary, whether their need for support will remain consistent enough to warrant the commitment of a new…
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It’s Thanksgiving week, which means it’s a good time to focus on the things in our lives that we’re grateful for. Owning and running a small business can sometimes be challenging or draining, but there are so many wonderful things about it that make the trials worthwhile. I always try to remember to think on all the parts of running my own business that fill me with gratitude and appreciation for the work I do and the people I work with. Especially around holiday time, when the themes of thankfulness and love are so prevalent, I find it makes me happy…
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When the time comes to grow your business, partnering with a virtual assistant can be one of the most beneficial, life changing steps that you can take on the path to your entrepreneurial success. A well-matched virtual assistant should be like a business partner who is invested in the success of your business. Investing in the proper systems and making time for the on-boarding process can be the key to accomplishing your business goals. When you prepare and invest in the partnership with your virtual assistant, it can be like joining forces, increasing your productivity by more than 50%. When…
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