Please Note: If you missed out on Part 1 and/or Part 2 of our 4-part series regarding the best tips for small entrepreneurs, please hover over the sections and click to read more.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Utilize software and online applications
There are several popular tools that are household names for micro, small and medium business. Keep checking our blog for a complete list of the tools we and our clients can’t do business without.
For brevity, some of our favorites are QuickBooks (bookkeeping/accounting), Dubsado (customer relationship), Loom (screen recorder), Zoom (video conferencing), GIMP (image manipulation), LastPass (specifically for storing passwords), and SlideShare (sharing files publicly and privately). These are all powerful tools to help you manage your business and enhance social media engagement.
We plan to dedicate a full blog post to highlight these and more amazing tools that help small business owners be more creative, efficient, flexible, and productive. Please continue to look out for that as we are excited to share the tried and true tools that have worked for us, our clients and other small entrepreneurs.
Establish a fully functional website or social media page
There are many small entrepreneurs who are remarkably successful in their niches. We have met dozens of individuals who have successful businesses and have never owned a website, but as they scale their business, they soon realize that a having a website is critical for continued success. An Instagram and/or Facebook page might be all you need at first, depending on your business, but as your clientele, services or products increase, you should put in place a fully functional website.
If you do not have the mindset and resources to leverage FB and/or Instagram (marketing, sale conversion, and scalability), it is better to build out a website or landing page to achieve the same outcome.
Whatever you decide to do, ensure that (i) you know where your target market is; (ii) have a strategy for how you will reach or bring them to you; and (iii) and how you will engage your audience to create leads and convert them to actual sales.
Find time to assess your business and work on tasks
Determine what works or does not work and what could be improved. Imagine your company provides social media marketing and administrative services. Within 3-6 months you realize that most of your clients are requesting social media management and marketing. You may deduce that you should adjust your service offering to exclude administrative services since it has the least demand or no demand and you are fully booked with social media and marketing orders.
Research the business intelligence or business analytics tools that are a good fit for your business. These tools can accurately report key insights, trends, problem areas, and other metrics to help you make informed decisions that have a positive impact on your bottom line.
Master the art of networking
Every small entrepreneur should have experience with networking. You cannot build relationships if you do not get out of your comfort zone and meet people. Some of the best ways to connect with people are:
- Local Chambers of Commerce: They are an underestimated networking element. In our opinion, every small business owner should connect with their Chamber of Commerce. Ensure you find out if you will have to pay any fees to become a member. Find out what are the expectations of members as well. If you can pay the yearly fee, become a member to gain exclusive access to their membership of small, medium and large companies.
- Referrals: Referrals are an industry best practice. Having people boast about your services and their customer experience is a sure way to maintain a consistent income stream.
Rewarding the individuals who referred 1 or 2 leads that converted to sales is an excellent idea. If you have consistently received business from an individual or business, send them a handwritten Thank You card or call them to express your gratitude for their continued business. Placing a Starbucks Gift Card (if they like Starbucks) inside a Thank You card is a great gesture. Something that simple could strengthen the relationship.
Your kindness towards the people who played a part in helping you to make a sale should be tangible and would likely lead to more referrals in the future. If they live in close proximity, invite them to your Labour Day BBQ, Thanksgiving brunch or dinner or Christmas dinner. Maintaining strong business relationships is key to a business’ bottom line.
Provide discounts
Giving a reasonable discount to loyal clients is a great way to boost sales. Discounting packages or hourly rate(s) lightens the financial burden of your client and may lead to the purchase of a new package or an increase in your hours, which results in more money in your bank account.
Make sure to follow-up
Refrain from burning bridges. If a business or individual requests information on your company, ensure you always follow up. If they are indecisive, give them time to “mull over” the information you provided and follow up within a few weeks. Always qualify and follow up on leads. Do not force anyone to work with you or buy your services.
Finally, making note of a birthday date, anniversary, vacation or illness and following up, helps to strengthen your client relationships.
Online Sites
Our tips for small entrepreneurs would not be very helpful without mentioning that networking is no longer limited to face to face meetings. Online sites have been for some time now, a critical element of networking.
- LinkedIn is a great place to connect with other entrepreneurs, existing and potential customers. You can use the InMail messaging feature on LinkedIn to establish rapport with your target market and join groups to provide invaluable feedback and glean information from the comment section.
- Utilize Instagram and Facebook. Resist the temptation to check your personal feed, notifications and direct messages are immense. Everyone struggles with time management. It is a skill that takes a long time for most people to sharpen. If you can come close to mastering it you will be more efficient, less stressed and productive. The benefits for some businesses are immeasurable.
- Meetup is great for finding people with similar interests. You have the opportunity to join a group and hopefully “meet up” with other small business owners or consumers who are interested in forming new business relationships.
Boost customer loyalty
You must find creative, cost-effective ways to show your customers that you appreciate them. To boost customer loyalty you must understand that it really is not about “you”. It is about your customers. Be the provider of solutions to their needs (and wants).
Some ways you can show your professionalism are:
- Scheduling a brief meeting to cover deliverables for the week
- Providing weekly reports discussing achievements and noting pipeline projects with suitable deadlines
- Periodic calls to find out if they need assistance with an additional “pain point”
It is important to show that you are willing and able to help your clients and handle tasks they were unaware of, on their behalf.
Head back to our blog in the coming days to read Part 4, which concludes our series on Tips for Small Business Owners. Part 4 covers social media, target market, and marketing tools.
