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. Make a big deal about your launch! Think Facebook ads and online promotions to mark the occasion. Click To Tweet Have you ever looked at other entrepreneurs and wondered how they get new products ready to launch…
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Business to business (B2B) relationships can be valuable assets for a small business, especially when it comes to gaining exposure on social media. Cross promotion through social platforms is a great way to attract new followers and new clients. It’s an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal, though. You won’t get exposure for nothing; whoever you’re working with will expect to be given similar exposure in return. This is great because it can strengthen a whole network of independent businesses and form long-lasting partnerships! Social media isn’t just for marketing to clients. Use it for connecting with…
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For entrepreneurs who own a small business, a marketing strategy has to be successfully developed and implemented in-house. We don’t have the luxury of being able to hire marketing firms or often even to have an entire team at our disposal for marketing our business! However, with the right components, a marketing strategy for small business can be very successful. A good marketing strategy can provide fast growth with little monetary investment. Click To Tweet As a long-time, successful small business owner who does her own marketing and develops marketing campaigns for clients, I’ve learned a lot about what…
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Well, we’ve almost made it through another year! I hope it was as good for your business as it was for mine, although I have some great suggestions if you didn’t meet all of your business goals this past year. The perfect time is coming up, in the lull between holiday gatherings and the new year starting in earnest, for you to take some steps for envisioning your next year in business. Come up with concrete plans and goals to make the New Year, your best year yet! Click To Tweet One of the key practices you should adopt if…
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Do you have the right team in place to support your business and meet its needs for the coming new year? When considering your goals for the upcoming year, they 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, and more work means you’ll probably need to hire at least one or two part-time team members in order to accomplish everything on time. A lot…
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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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Clients are the heart of your business, and you can’t afford to take them for granted. Without your clients, your business wouldn’t exist, so you always need to be considerate of their needs and appreciative for their patronage. The benefit to showing clients your appreciation is that it builds a strong connection with them, encouraging return business and making it more likely that they will refer others to you. Good client care is fundamental to the success of every business! While there are actions you can take year-round to let clients know how much you appreciate their business, the holidays…
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Planning ahead of time is one of the most important skills for a business owner to develop, because the success of any small business depends on how well it flows. Unfortunately, most people are only good at planning a day or two in advance, or for the very long term—setting goals for the year or beyond. It is merging the two, and sticking to a plan for the week or month where most people get tripped up in their calendaring and organization. Successfully planning ahead and maintaining business flow becomes even more difficult around the holidays, where clients and collaborators…
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After reading a few posts here on the Jennie Lyon Virtual Assistant Services blog, hopefully you’re aware of what a Virtual Assistant is, what they can do for your business, and why it’s a great idea to outsource your work to one. The next step is to actually find a virtual assistant who you can work well with and is a good match for your needs. You need someone who you can trust with your business, and who has the necessary experience doing the sorts of tasks you’re planning to hand off. Now, you might be at a loss when…
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