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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Do you know how to listen well as a business owner? Really, I’m not asking this facetiously; a lot of people don’t actually have well-developed listening skills, and that can hold them back in the world of small business ownership. Communication is the key to running a successful business, and listening should be the bulk of your communication! In a world of constant distractions, where we’ve been taught to multi-task as often as possible, many people have difficulty keeping their attention focused on a single conversation for any length of time. This can be a huge source of miscommunication between…
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The holidays are fast approaching, Halloween is a little over a week away! Like many other entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’m sure you’re looking forward to them. After all, who doesn’t love spending time with family, enjoying the change of season, and attending celebrations and holiday dinners? Unfortunately, this is often also a busy time for small businesses, and all the extra workload can keep you from enjoying your holidays. Entrepreneurs, especially those working solo and/or from a home office, need to carefully protect their work-life balance. Do you need a vacation or some time working fewer hours in order…
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Branding encompasses all the ways a client or customer views and understands your business, including the visual presentation of your company’s website and print materials. Humans are visual creatures by nature, and one of the first judgments a potential client makes when interacting with your business for the first time is whether it looks trustworthy, current, and consistent. Visual branding goes beyond just logo design. Especially for a small business, using the same visual identity standards/style guides (fonts, colors, graphics) across your website and social media channels is key. Setting out these standards and making sure your company can be…
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As the leaves begin to fall and we enter the last quarter of the calendar year, planning for the following one should be on your mind. Before the holidays eat up all your extra time and your client work doubles as the year comes to a close, you should spend some time thinking about how to improve your business’ online presence in the upcoming year. Early autumn is the perfect time to put together both an editorial and social media marketing calendar for 2017. Here are some reasons why these simple organizational tools can help grow your business next year. Editorial…
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It doesn’t matter what industry you work in; challenging clients are something every entrepreneur will need to deal with at one point or another. (I am lucky, all of my clients are pretty darn wonderful!) It can be frustrating when a client assumes you can read their mind, or changes their expectations on a daily basis. This can especially become a challenge when you only interact with clients online, with no chance to meet face-to-face. Having run a virtual business for years now, I’m very well versed in working well with clients via online means. Even before I owned a virtual…
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When it comes to online content, the old saying really is true: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. In the era of Instagram, Pinterest, and other visually-based social media platforms, visual design is more important than ever. Potential customers and clients want to see beautiful graphic design when browsing the website and social channels of any business, no matter what their focus. Just because you aren’t a photographer or design firm doesn’t mean you can ignore the need to make your online presence visually appealing. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs simply don’t have enough time to devote to learning a whole…
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One of the best reasons to partner with a virtual assistant is the growth potential it gives your small business; that growth in turn drives your income up substantially. Think of how much time you will be able to spend on bringing in new paying clients instead of doing the “busy work” of running a business. It’s a pretty simple calculation: when a virtual assistant is doing half of your work each day, you can double your efforts on the parts of your business that matter most. I know this first hand! As a virtual assistant who was always busy helping…
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We all know the feeling: your inbox is overflowing, you have a half dozen separate to-do lists, online, on paper, and on your smartphone or tablet. That doesn’t include the mental one you’re constantly updating. The endless seeming slog begins to creep in and make a job you were once passionate about into something you dread. It’s time you made some changes, don’t you think? For small business owners and entrepreneurs, dealing with the endless stream of tasks required to keep your operation not just afloat but productive, thriving, and successful can be especially difficult. There are only so many…
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