Everywhere you look on the internet, you find information flung at you from every direction and medium. We are awash in stimuli for most of our day on our mobile devices, laptops, and computer monitors. When you consider marketing your business amidst this deluge of content, it can seem pretty overwhelming! Thankfully, you can use a digital marketing tool that provides some evergreen content options and is super easy to digest: video! While you can certainly invest your money into a commercial that streams on YouTube or TV, that isn’t always possible for a small business owner. In the beginning…
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Gosh. Sometimes it’s baffling to think that Facebook was ever a social networking site for Harvard students when you look at the beast it has become now. As of 2021, it boasts 2.85 billion monthly users. 2.85 billion is a staggering number of people when you stop to think about it. And as a small business, it’s hard not to get excited by the prospect of all those people seeing your advertisement on the world’s most popular social networking platform. If I could sell 1 item for $1 to all of them, that’s $2.85 billion at month’s end; I’d be…
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As a small business owner, I really dislike being locked into a contract. I’ve heard horror stories from my clients who got locked into long-term contracts with a firm that didn’t deliver what they promised! Now, I’m not bad-mouthing my competitors here! The aim of countless virtual assistant firms out there is to help your business succeed. When you’re running a small business, you need to have flexibility, especially when you’re first starting out. Your income might not be predictable and having a big fixed cost can become a nightmare for your budget. With many reputable virtual assistant firms, you don’t…
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Are you currently worried about your small business’s future? The coronavirus outbreak has turned the entire world upside down. There are times when it feels almost like a movie; it’s surreal. Many Americans are locked down in their homes, watching the news, wondering what’s next. But small business owners have even more worries. With social distancing becoming the norm and mandatory closure of non-essential businesses, entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how they can protect their businesses until we get to the other side of the crisis. The government is even providing help to small businesses with funding, grants, and…
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Want to know the worst feeling in the world when you’re a small business owner creating a sense of emergency? It’s when you feel the first inklings that you’re getting sick. You know the signs. Sleep the night before may not happen. Your energy is running dry, or you get a tickle in the back of your throat. You think, “I’m getting sick. I can’t afford to get sick! I have too much to do this week!!!” As a small business owner, it’s not unusual that everything is on your shoulders. Your customer service, marketing, daily tasks, sales, EVERYTHING goes…
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Ok, I’m going to admit it. I… occasionally… binge watch Netflix. I know, I know, I’ve heard all the arguments against it. It ruins the show, it’s a waste of time, etc. But the fact is that it’s fun to binge watch a show with your loved ones (or by yourself with a giant bowl of popcorn). Binge watching has gone from something that only those who buy DVD box sets do to something that just about everyone does. You pick a show on Netflix, sit down on the couch, and enjoy the ride. But Netflix is only one option…
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One of the most terrifying and exciting things in life is having to start again.Let’s face it – we are all getting older! Maybe your children have finally left home for university, (Eben, my son, started college early and skipped his senior year!) or perhaps you’re thinking of retiring from your long-time job and want to try something new this time around! Maybe you have recently been let go at work, or simply grew bored and finally want to do what you have always wanted with your life. No matter which the situation, it’s still terrifying and thrilling. For example,…
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One of the most time-consuming activities for a small business is client onboarding. There are so many steps necessary to give your customers your full focus and attention. By automating the process, you can free up SO much time that you can better spend actually serving their needs. If you are a small business owner with a limited, or non-existent staff, onboarding can take up a ton of your time. While larger businesses can afford to assign someone to handle these responsibilities, your onboarding process entirely relies on you. But what can you do? Well, the solution is automation! By…
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I like to think of myself as a veteran small business owner. Ever since my twenties, I’ve felt the drive to create my own work. It’s something that comes from within me, to create a business from nothing. I’m sure that many of the small business owners and entrepreneurs reading this blog can relate! I’ve been through ups and downs and have learned many lessons along the way. One of the most important lessons was the necessity of needing help. For the first ten years of my business, I did everything myself without any help. Not even a virtual assistant.…
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Recently, there have been a number of stories in the news that a record number of pregnant women are running for political office, more than at any other point in our country’s history. This absolutely remarkable shift was foreshadowed just a few short months ago when the sitting Prime Minister of New Zealand gave birth to her daughter. Can you imagine being the leader of a country while at the exact same time balancing the responsibilities of being a new parent? For many small business owners out there, it’s easy because they are going through something very similar. It’s time…
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