5 Unique Small Business Digital Marketing Tips

By Jennie Lyon / March 20, 2015

Small businesses need to utilize these digital marketing tips—period! In the days before the internet, companies spent huge sums on visual campaigns. Nowadays, this type of marketing is not only old-fashioned and expensive but becoming irrelevant, too. The majority of consumers read, shop, and communicate on their devices. The average adult’s attention span is around 6-8 seconds, so you have to grab their attention quickly. Today’s small business owners can benefit from a wide, growing variety of platforms to market their businesses. You now have the ability to learn so much more about your target audience and market specifically to…

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How To Fail Well as an Entrepreneur

By Jennie Lyon / March 13, 2015

Every successful industry mogul, from Jack Welch to Sara Blakely, has faced failure. Sara Blakely, creator of Spanx and self-made female billionaire, told CNBC in an interview that her father would often ask her and her brother the same question at dinner: “What have you failed at this week?” The exercise was not one of self-flagellation and wallowing in disappointment but to one that pointed out that there is no failure without trying—and that not trying is a worse alternative than failure. As an entrepreneur I have faced my share of failures, too. In fact, because my process is all about…

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How I Became a Successful Female Small Business Owner

By Jennie Lyon / March 6, 2015

Whether it is to spend more time with family, to make a better living, or simply follow a passion or skill set, so many women these days are making the move into independent business ownership. As exciting as the decision to work for yourself is, it can be daunting when you realize how much work, dedication, and patience are required for success. You may have well-meaning friends or peers who have attempted to encourage you by saying that it can take months—or years—for your business to get off the ground or that starting out is hard for everyone. Meanwhile, you…

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4 Branding Tips Every Entrepreneur Can Use

By Jennie Lyon / February 27, 2015

I have been a small business owner for a long time and have partnered with dozens of other successful entrepreneurs. Through my own personal experience building my company, as well as helping the successful people I partner with, I have learned a few things about successful small business branding. Here are 4 branding tips that every entrepreneur can use.  1. Know Your NicheUnderstanding your target market is absolutely key to knowing how to market to them. In today’s economy, successful marketing means that a brand is more than a fancy logo or enticing slogan; in order to engage clients businesses must…

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6 Ways to Make Working From Home Work for Your Business

By Jennie Lyon / February 20, 2015

 As more and more people go into business for themselves, more and more people are working from home. Working from home offers many benefits, like eliminating your commute and freeing you from the distractions of co-workers. That said, working from home can prove more challenging than it looks at first glance. Here are 6 ways to make working from home work for your business. 1. Designate an Office Space This is step #1 for successfully conducting your business from home. Dedicating a specific space at home keeps you focused and serious about your business. Having a space that is designated…

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Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Virtual Team

By Jennie Lyon / February 13, 2015

If you are an emerging small business owner or considering branching out on your own, you’ve probably given a lot of thought to the endeavor, weighing the pros and cons and wondering whether you have what it takes to work for yourself. Starting your own business can be overwhelming, but with the help of a virtual assistant team you can boost your confidence and set yourself up for success right from the beginning! The following are a few ways that partnering with a virtual team can benefit you and your budding enterprise. Help You Stay Energized and FocusedSomething every small business…

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7 Online Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

By Jennie Lyon / February 6, 2015

The number of female small business owners in the US has risen dramatically in the past decade, and continues to grow! This is great news for all the women who have hoped to venture out on their own, who have recently formed a new business, and even women who own established small business. The prevalence of female-owned businesses means more opportunities for women to network, develop professionally, and realize their aspirations. As a hopeful woman entrepreneur, you may be wondering where to find the right resources to support your developing business idea. Connecting to resources and capital is essential to…

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5 Prompts to Help You Generate Business Blog Topics

By Jennie Lyon / January 30, 2015

Even if you’ve partnered with a virtual assistant or content manager to create your online business content (i.e. blog and social media posts) you’ll still need to come up with the topics that your online content will be about. As an entrepreneur, you are probably great at coming up with new ideas—for your business. Coming up with topics to address for your audience may not be as easy. When you live, breathe, and move in your business every day, you have an unlimited amount of information about your principal service or product; it can be challenging to know what information…

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6 Ways to Nurture Your Small Business During Maternity Leave

By Jennie Lyon / January 23, 2015

Owning and running your own small business means that your attention is on your work 24 hours a day: what needs to get done, what’s most urgent, what you’ll respond to first tomorrow morning. It’s almost like taking care of in infant! If you’re a woman who owns her own business and is also expecting a child, you may feel as if you’re about to have two babies to care for. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, like women in most work settings you are probably planning to take a few months off, if not more. You…

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5 Time Management Tips for Entrepreneurs

By Jennie Lyon / January 16, 2015

When you have an entire business to run on your own—or with a small staff—there’s always a LOT to get done. Time management is one of the biggest challenges small business owners and entrepreneurs face on a daily basis. With a little planning and discipline, though, your days can run smoothly and calmly—and you can still get everything done. Here are 5 time management tips for busy entrepreneurs like yourself. 1. Make a List & PrioritizeAs an independent business owner, you probably have a running list at any given time of about 1,000 things that need to get done. Some…

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