I see you out there running your empire. Maybe it is a successful mountain filled with money, dedicated followers, heart-moving outreach, and rewarding progress. #goals On the contrary, maybe you are the queen of a hustle, standing alone wearing a plastic crown. One who invests so much time and heart into your business and all you get are spammy followers partnered with no return on your investments. Lovely, just lovely.
Being a girl boss looks so sparkly, but truth be told, it is roller-coaster ride with glitter flying around, hitting you in the face and burning your eyes. For real girl, true entrepreneurship's are built and fueled by moments. The moment you make a sale. The moment you land a client. The moment your bank account increases. The moment you connect with your client and they love what you did for them. The moment when you see your product or service impacting someone else's life and business. So many wonderful "glass of wine" celebratory moments [which we know are the best ones] Those moments far outweigh the sweat, tears, doubts, hard decisions, planning, strategic maneuvering, and time invested into your business.
It's not always easy, but it is a ride where the wind blows, the rain falls and the sun shines in some odd harmony all at once. Taking on a trip of such emotion teaches you so much about yourself. #selflove #grace As an entrepreneur on and off for five years, I have learned a couple of things that may help you along your journey as you venture down Boss Babe Blvd...check them out!
1. REMEMBER THERE IS A BACKBONE IN YOUR BACK.
Are you still allowing yourself to be run over? Still? Don't you think it is time that you stood tall and demanded respect? This is a lesson that was learned by me the hard way. As a woman in any field of power, you are going to have to have confidence in your craft. Dig deep, it's there I promise. One of the best tips I could give you is to
BE HONEST. ALWAYS.
Stop worrying about stepping on other peoples toes, and worry about yours getting stepped on. You can and should respect their toes..but they need to respect your piggies as well! There can be a beautiful balance of being firm and friendly. If you have made an agreement with a client or colleague it is your job to make sure that you are treated fairly. Stop asking and start telling. The way you say something makes all of the difference.. for example.. "So for all that you requested we can probably do this project for $200. Would that work for you or is it too much?" OR "I have reviewed your requests and I have included the invoice link in this email with the project total to pay as soon as you can. As soon as payment is received, we can get started." Remember do not ask, tell. I release you from being Debbie Doormat and promote you to being Respected Rhonda ;)
2. KEEP FEEDING YOUR BUSINESS BABY
AND IT WILL GROW.
It has been a month and you have pulled out all of the tricks that you have. You offer wonderful products and services, yet no one seems to notice you. You feel like you are screaming through a screen. You notice Bland Betty over there with an enormous following and you wonder what in the help are you doing wrong?
Keep feeding that baby.
Keep showing up. Not every post goes viral, not every sale goes through. Keep going. Your business baby needs meals coming from different food groups. Trying to grow just one social media platform is probably a bad idea. Try different avenues of outreach. Find someone who you believe to be successful in the field that you are in, and see all of the different ways they connect with their clients. Try some of them. Do not just try them for a week either. Try them for 6 months to see what works and what does not.
I once heard someone explain the benefit of consistency like this. They said imagine if you went to a gym and sweated for 9 hours straight.. you did cardio, the treadmill, yoga, weightlifting all in one day, all day long. Do you think you would have the body of a Victoria's Secret Model when you woke up the next morning? Well of course not, but if you showed up every day for a couple of hours rotating those activities over a span of six months I bet you would start looking like a hottay. You would see results. If you did the same in business and was consistent you would more than likely start growing a healthy happy business baby.
3. AUTHENTICITY IS SO RARE. PLEASE BE
A GLOWING GEM IN THE SEA OF PET ROCKS.
HA HA HA... Pet rocks.. That is the first thing that came to mind when I was typing and trying to describe the guru who looks a specific way and says everything that you want to hear. She is molding herself into exactly what she thinks sells and the appearance that seems accepted in this day and time. Yes, it works for a handful of them and then there is just a sea of pet rocks out there floating around with messy buns and Starbucks cups that get lost in the sea of grayness. They don't stand for anything specific and forget that they can be a light that shines from time to time from their life experiences.
Ya'll, I have known so many pet rocks. Their online persona screams "I am so real. Look at me with my comfy pants and my messy living room. I want to be your best friend..." But then you end up finding out that persona is sugar coated as well, which steals all of the authenticity of it. Of course presentation matters in the online world. We want our feeds to be consistent and relay our message in the best way possible, and there is nothing at all wrong with that, BUT if your business is you and you are the face of it, make sure there is no false advertising. In time people will see right through you, or may not even see you at all. Basically stop looking at Isabelle Instagram and look in the mirror. If you are a Starbucks lover then you rock it. All I am saying is do not forget to be you, for that is what truly inspires. Be original.
4. SOME NUMBERS MATTER AND
SOME NUMBERS DON'T.
Outreach is SO important for your business, but it is also SO important to keep your perspective correct on what numbers matter and what numbers do not. The amount of followers on Instagram does not always directly reflect how much revenue you create at the end of the day. Every client I have attained in the last month does not even follow me on social media. Stop worrying so much about how high the number is by your name on an app and start trying to appreciate and connect with the human behind the number. When you make a sale, focus on that single human. If you are in a service based business like me, be bold and ask for referrals! I always offer a $5 Starbucks Gift card to someone who refers someone to me that makes a purchase. Word of mouth is still a great platform to grow your business.
I do believe it is important to view your data. Data speaks volumes about what people are responding to and what they are not. You of course want response from the people who find interest in who you are interested in what you have to offer. If you have a website, make sure you are connected to Google Analytics. It is free and an amazing tool to find out more about the market that is responding and visiting your website such as age range, location, most visited pages, ect... Business Instagram accounts also have INSIGHTS. This will show you your best times to post when your audience is online. Experiment with the content you create and once you release it check the data. See what is working and what is not working so well. It will take time, and some trial and error, but I can tell you it will help direct you in the way your content needs to go for optimal results.
5. INVEST IN BUSINESS TOOLS. DO YOUR RESEARCH.
There is no reason that in this day and time that you are not taking advantage of everything the wonderful world of the internet has to offer! WAKE UP. It's 2019! WOOP WOOP! There are SO many free and affordable tools online to help your business look professional and help simplify all sorts of processes. I highly recommend the free program Canva to create social media graphics! I really love the program Planoly for planning out your Instagram posts ahead of time to keep your audience entertained and see your feed ahead of time. Use YOUTUBE as your personal teacher to teach you anything you lack. I literally have learned SO much valuable knowledge from watching countless hours of YouTube videos!
I use Quickbooks Self-Employed to keep up with all of my sales, receipts from all my business purchases, tax information, profits, business mileage + more. Do you keep up with your business mileage? This app will keep up with it with ease as you drive. Yes, any trip traveled to get any items for your business can be tax deducted! This program integrates into Turbo Tax and once all your information is entered throughout the year, you can transfer all of the information for your taxes with a couple of clicks! I just love it!
Two of the most important business tools are your branding and your website. Equipping your business both of these makes your business look put together and trustworthy in the online world. I am a designer and create websites on the WIX PLATFORM! If you are on a budget it is completely free to start creating a website yourself on WIX.COM if you are tech savy and enjoy design. If that kind of thing overwhelms you I offer pre-designed templates as a super affordable option. They look beautiful and are made for you to simply insert your information. I even have a private design library with tutorials on how to do everything step by step to simplify the process. If you are ready to invest without doing any of the work yourself, I offer completely custom websites as well! Check out my shoppe for template and custom website options to use as business tools to purchase!
Cohesive branding is a must as well. You want your logo, colors, and brand personality to be cohesive on any platform that you promote your business on. Personally if someone has sketchy branding I am a lot less likely to trust them or purchase something from them. It's just the truth. If your logo looks like it was made in Paint, it is time for change! If you are lost in the branding world, I offer those services as well! Check out my shoppe for the branding listing or contact me for any questions you may have and I can help you in any way that I can.
CHEERS TO A BOOMING BUSINESS FOR YOU IN 2019!
Just remember on the days you may feel like throwing in the towel, no one ever said this journey was going to be an easy one. There is something beautiful about seeing all of your hard work pay off. I hope these tips help you and spark a new perspective in your entrepreneur journey!
