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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Better Business

November 19, 2014 Are YOU Prepared For Small Business Saturday?

It’s right around the corner. On November 29th, millions of people will flock to small businesses to take advantage of sales and to support the local economy. Small Business Saturday is a great idea and a fantastic opportunity to promote your small business, but how on earth can you take full advantage of it? How can your small business stand out from the crowd?

Before I answer that, let me be clear about one thing: Your small business does NOT have to be a brick and mortar store. You might host house parties (think Norwex or Tastefully Simple), tutor math students, sell jewelry, or run an independent consulting business. In any of these cases, Small Business Saturday applies to you.

1. Run a Promotion

Nothing gets people to flock to your business like a good old fashioned promotion. If you’re a consultant, you might offer one free half-hour session for anyone who contacts you on Saturday. If you sell hand-knitted hats and mittens, you might give people a chance to enter a drawing for some free goods. If you run a pastry shop, you could give away free cookies. Whatever the case, make sure you thoroughly advertise your promo through all your marketing channels: social media, your newsletter list, your family and friends (you might be amazed by how willing people are to help you), etc. Need help getting started? This article gives you the basics on creating a great promo.

TAKE ACTION:

If you’re totally at a loss for how to create a successful promo, try creating a coupon (i.e. 50% off any one item from your Etsy store) and send it to all your email contacts and post it on Facebook.

2. Start Talking

Don’t be shy about advertising your small business! Use all the marketing resources you have at your fingertips. That includes social media, word-of-mouth, your email list, your book club or church group, and your past customers. Generate a buzz about Small Business Saturday and start creating dialogues with those around you. Make an effort to post something about your business (or Small Business Saturday) every day until the 29th. If you’re in any business-related groups on LinkedIn, start a conversation about Small Business Saturday and see what others are doing to promote their businesses. Engaging your social media platforms accomplishes two things: 1) It creates excitement around your products or services and 2) It boosts your SEO since search engines are designed to search for fresh content (and that includes social media updates).

TAKE ACTION:

One of your greatest resources is past customers. These are people who can attest to how great your products are or how fantastic it is to work with you. Collect as many testimonials from past customers as possible and post them on your website or tweet about them. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your past customers to spread the word about your business on Small Business Saturday.

3. Collaborate with Other Small Businesses

Make Small Business Saturday a party this year! Invite other small businesses to join you in marketing and promotion. These might be businesses that are similar to yours (i.e. jewelry shops) OR they might be physically located next store to you (then you can work on attracting visitors to your specific neighborhood) OR they might simply be businesses with whom you have a good, long-standing relationship. By pooling your resources, you can create a more in-depth, far-reaching campaign and you’ll be able to draw on each other’s creativity. Plus, this kind of relationship with other businesses opens the door for collaborating in the future.

TAKE ACTION:

After Small Business Saturday is over, be sure to compare notes with your small business team. What went well? What didn’t? What would you do differently next year? This kind of dialogue sets the stage for next year and helps to keep marketing at the top of your mind as you march into the holiday season and the upcoming new year.

Good luck out there and be sure to send me an email on Small Business Saturday with this code:

SBS 2014

Sincerely,

Margaret Smith Signature, UXL

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September 13, 2014 Speaker Michael Goldberg On Great Networking Skills

In this talk, Michael Goldberg defines networking as “a proactive approach to meeting people.” He reveals ways to take advantage of opportunities you encounter when meeting new people. Take a look!

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June 25, 2014 The Art of Staying Flexible

I once collaborated on a project with a few people from my department. We all had different areas of expertise, so we relied on each other equally in order to get it off the ground.

The problem was, our visions of not only how we were going to execute the project, but what the project even looked like, were all over the board. It took weeks of frustrating debate just to come to an agreement on the project itself.

Then, there was the tug-of-war between us at every step of the process. One person wanted to draft specific, detailed assignments for each of us to follow verbatim. Since a few of us worked better in a more fluid, open style, that became a point of contention. Another member of the team insisted we meet in person multiple times a week, while there was one individual who thrived working on her own time.

Of course, we eventually got the job done. Once we had time to settle down and look back on the project, we admitted we could have all been more flexible.

It’s easy to get tunnel vision in situations like these. So easy, in fact, that I’ve witnessed the calmest, most professional leaders become almost hysterical when they’re in the middle of a collaborative project. Why is this?

I think it’s mainly due to pride. When we have a task before us, we all visualize how the end result will look, which is very necessary. But we unintentionally force our personal vision onto everyone else, even when we’re unaware that we’re doing it.

Think of a time when you resisted a suggestion from someone in a collaborative situation. I’m willing to bet that your resistance to their suggestion wasn’t necessarily because it was a bad idea. I’ll go so far as to say you objected because deep down, you were convinced that your vision was inherently better than theirs.

This is where the tunnel vision happens. Assuming that you have the better vision, you are unwilling/unable to truly give their idea a fair chance. Often, you’ll realize after the fact that they actually had a great idea, and you may scratch your head and wonder, “Why didn’t I see that at the time?”

The remedy? Remind yourself every step of the way that your vision isn’t inherently perfect. Remind yourself that you are one person, working in a team. Listen to your collaborators. Accept that the product won’t ever be exactly as you envision it. Allow yourself to change your mind and see alternatives.

The good news: having this skill enhances your end product. Flexibility leads to innovation and dynamic results well past what you expected. This is because the ability to be flexible unleashes the awesome power of collaborative work between many talented minds.

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