As an entrepreneur, you are your most valuable asset. You are an expert in your field, and you’re great at what you do. You’re a high functioning and very capable individual and it’s natural that you’ll need to overcome the feeling that no one else can do the work as well as you could do it yourself. At some point you’ll overcome that hurdle and you’ll start to realize that your time is a limited resource and your biggest asset. The time will come when finding great help will be the only way for your business to expand and thrive…
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How often do you look at the clock and wonder where the day has gone? How often do you look at the back-to-back blocks of bookings in your calendar and feel overwhelmed? In this busy digital age filled with the distractions of email, social media and apps, it’s easy for our days to become filled with tasks that distract from our potential productivity. Maybe your day becomes filled with administrative tasks that need to be done, but they aren’t the best use of your time. You might be too accessible, and your day is filled with too many email and telephone…
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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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The days of simply reading and liking social media posts are over. The most active and engaged social media users spend time asking questions, starting conversations about topics that are important to them, and sharing content that is meaningful to them. If your business wants to engage in meaningful conversation on social media, you need these top 4 tools. 1. Be Professional But Not StiffThink of social networking as virtual cocktail parties: charm, wit, and jokes are encouraged while maintaining professional boundaries and keeping the conversation relevant to all involved. There is an element to this type of conversation that…
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All entrepreneurs are busy—pretty much all the time. That part is not likely to change. The essence of effective time management is maximize results with the time you put in—in other words, working smarter and not harder. These tips on time management for entrepreneurs will help you do just that. DoRemember the 80/20 principle, which says that, on average, 20% of a business’ clients make up 80% of their sales. While mundane tasks like keeping up the books and ordering office supplies need to get done, the 80/20 rule says it’s smarter and more cost effective to outsource these tasks…
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If you’ve ever started your own business, you know that there are—or at least seem to be—an endless amount of steps to take to get your business up and running. If we listed them all, this blog post would quickly turn into a book! In this post, I am taking for granted that you already know what services or products you want to offer and how to finance your venture, and are ready to get the ball rolling. The following is my small business launch checklist. 1. “Paperwork”All small business owners need to go through the “paperwork” process of starting their…
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If you’re an avid blog-reader or have ever started your own blog, you’ve probably heard of WordPress, the most popular and arguably most practical blogging platform available. What you may not know about WordPress is that it’s not just for bloggers; it’s a popular platform for small business sites and is even the platform behind huge corporate websites like eBay and Forbes. 1. User-Friendly Yet AdvancedWordPress is one of the most popular platforms for beginning bloggers as well as small business owners who want to create a full website. The reason is that WordPress’ tutorials, themes, and multitudes of plug-ins…
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“Copy” refers to written information that will be published in a book, newspaper, magazine, website, ad, or on social media sites. Copy is a silent but powerful medium through which clients, prospects, and other businesses are introduced to and stay connected with your business. Without this written content, your business’ ability to represent itself would be limited to images, your brick-and-mortar store (if you have one), and personal interactions. As you have probably guessed, professional copy is an important part of your business! Many small business owners are experts in their own right, but few are also talented, effective…
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If you’re anything like me, you’re an ambitious entrepreneur who—at one point or another—has felt sure that no one else can do your work better than you. Or that if you just work a little harder and a little longer you can get it all done. I have news for you: if you want and expect your business to expand, thrive, and be successful and sustainable, at some point it will (and should) become too much for one person to handle alone. Growth is great—burnout and overwhelm are not. Here are 6 signs that it’s time to outsource your work…
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Blogging isn’t just for emotional college kids and foodies any more! If you are serious about taking your business to the next level, you need to blog regularly via a professional, polished business blog. Here are my top 3 reasons why. 1. Blogging Makes You Visible OnlineConsistent blogging populates the web with your business name, the types of services you offer, and topics that appeal to your target market. This is important because when clients and other businesses conduct searches for these things, the likelihood of your business showing up in search results (and earning high rankings) goes up the…
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