If promotion for yourself or business is challenging for you, there’s a big problem with that because you can’t grow a business if no one knows you. The old saying “Good Things come to those who wait” doesn’t apply in the digital age. In today’s market, you have to have to get up and get it yourself. Here are three real, practical, hands-on steps you can and should do today to promote yourself and your business effectively and fast.
Brand advocates are those who enjoy your product or service so much that they’ll happily spread the word about it. The customer’s ability to rate and review a company’s online reputation empowers them to speak out more when they use your service. Turning your customers into brand advocates is an important process since they’re your biggest advertising tool.
Staying at the top is a challenge that many businesses have trouble sustaining. It’s important to stay innovative and outperform your competition. Here’s a new set of tips on how to constantly improve your business to maintain success.
When you’re building a business, a lot of people will offer you advice. But, eventually, you are going to fail in some aspect and don’t be afraid because it will become a positive thing. Make mistakes, take risks, and don’t hold back are all cliché phrases you’ll hear. If you’re never failing, you’re probably never really winning either.
Today highlight some of the comments and questions you submitted and getting Frank’s response on all topics.
As discussed previously funding is hard to obtain especially when asking from friends/family. It’s important if you go that route to understand at all times this is a business transaction. It’s not your money, and there is risk associated with borrowing money from people close to you. Notify them of the risks involved, possible obstacles and a realistic time frame to see an ROI, in addition, how you will handle these obstacles. Treating it like it’s an official pitch to a bank or investor helps take the emotion out of the situation and keeps everything professional.
Making a move to hiring a finance person is always tricky because it depends on what stage your bootstrap startup is currently at. Most time you may be able to sustain with an in-house bookkeeper a few times and transition them into a full-time position. The risk in going to a senior accountant before necessary is the cost associated can be expensive and sometimes unnecessary. Instead, consider having a person who can perform the daily accounting procedures until you reach the point where a CFO is needed.
When starting off a business everyone needs a location work out from, but most bootstrap startups are unsure what options they have and what does it look like? Today we’ll discuss the best move for your bootstrap startup.
Working from home vs. office is a debate that nobody has mastered, but both provide their own advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, your main concern should be to keep costs down. Working from home gives you that freedom and space to move in a space which you’re comfortable and avoid having to sign leases. However, it may come at the disadvantage of not establishing the company culture and collaborate on ideas with others.
Working in an office is much easier today than its ever been. Things such as shared offices, small rental units, and collaborative spaces/software all help with growing a business. Staff get the chance to discuss ideas, build relationships and collaborate together. Although, this might require longer commute times to work, and additional costs for the renal space.
Ultimately, the decision will be based on the type of business you are conducting, and if the home/office culture is where you will thrive the most. For example, tech-based companies may be interested in an open concept area with lounge and relaxation space because staff want an area away from their computers. Contrarily, a sales culture where staff are working independently speaking to clients and want to be in a home environment or have a dedicated desk. Some companies are exploring the option of a hybrid office, which has both features, so they can cater to all personality types and working styles.
Finally, the hardest part is determining how much space you will need as a startup. As s bootstrap startup its hopeful to expect your business to grow as the years go by, but there is never a guarantee. Most rentals are 3-5 years so the best way to determine what to do is take a realistic approach to your business and assess if a larger office contributes to the growth of your business and the bottom line. A bad office lease or too expensive office can cripple your business quicker than anything else.
The sales industry has changed from the old school, knock on your door days, and referrals. People pick up the phones less, buyers are more educated, and sellers now need to take a modernized approach it customers. Understanding how to run a formalized BDR/SDR (Business Development Rep/Sale Development Rep) program is essential to staying active in the sales industry, including sending out emails and other touchpoints to prospective clients to make a sale.
Exhausting every option to gain a customer’s interest is now industry standard. The amount of activity and resources spent to make a sale has increased because the amount of relationship building with customers in the pre-sale stage has decreased. Sales are now primarily driven by campaign data, so business owners can start to understand where sales call drop-offs will be, expected responses, and bookings.
Hiring sales staff that are able to quickly understand the different types of personalities when speaking to people and adjust to them will bring in more sales every time. Using a combination of a call, voicemail, email, and backed up by marketing messaging (documents) provides the highest rate of success. Ultimately, coming up with a sales strategy, including script, target market, and campaign (based on data) will give your business the best opportunity to succeed in the sales field.
Everyone is well aware that having a finance department is essential for any business in all industries to progress. However, when comes to startups its more about when is the right time to set one up, and who will be responsible for overseeing the company’s finances. We’ve seen the difficulties many startups are having with this conundrum and came up with a few tips to help you get started on setting up your finance department.
When a company is just getting started and can’t afford an accountant one of the best moves is look into accounting software programs. Options such as QuickBooks is reasonably priced and will do the number crunching for you. Most startups do their own accounting using multiple spreadsheets, ledgers etc. but technology has created a way for startups to save time on doing math and more time on marketing the business. Utilize the ability to let a computer do the work for you and start figuring out a way to get paid from any outstanding receivables.
Live within your means when it’s time to expand. As the business grows in revenue, you’ll need more help handling the finances, and hiring an accounting firm can be very time costly experience if you don’t know what you’re doing. Research both large and smaller firms, be clear about your expectations and budget when speaking to their agents. Do not discredit smaller firms because on occasion they can produce the type of financial assistance you require within your budget and building business relationships never hurts. A lot of startups can get swept up in the appeal of a large financial firm taking over but unable to maintain the costs associated. There is nothing impressive about going with a big firm if you don’t have the big budget to match it. Keep it simple.
Finally, consider hiring contract, part-time, or freelance bookkeepers to complete your finance department. Not every business needs a full time dedicated finance department. Take advantage of these options and seek outside help who can pick up some of the workloads where your business may be falling short. It’s usually just as effective and keeps costs low while you wait for your business to take that next step up in revenue to hire full-time staff.
The process of hiring a new employee can be complex and tiring, let alone if your business is a start-up. Start-ups are unique business’ and rely much more on their staff achieving their goals and overcoming challenges that most larger business no longer require.
A key strategy in hiring for a start is, hire for potential not just track record. Past success is always great, but in a start-up, industry potential may be greater. Look for a person who has a strong interest or passion for the type of work your start-up is doing and see if their values align. Measure what potential you can unlock their skills and determine if the job position will give the applicant a chance to succeed and you’ll likely see results.
The culture fit is crucial. This is usually the hardest to pinpoint but it’s always important. Basically, it’s the fit between personality and organization. You will need to examine the behavior, attitude, and mentality of an applicant to see if they’re the right culture fit for your business. There is no guide to fitting into the right culture, it’s more of a feeling and unspoken understanding. Trust in your hiring staff to make the right decision and ensure they ask applicants questions non-work related to find out more about their personality.
Lastly, look for trainable people. Regardless of experience and culture fit, you will always need to train the new person. In a start-up industry training is essential to continued success. If the applicant is hesitant to new ideas or training styles and prefers to do things “their way” you may be setting you and them up for failure. Furthermore, ensure their ability to adapt to changing environments since the start-up field is constantly changing. Being unwilling to be coached or help coach others is how most new hires fail in their first year with a start-up.
Are you living your best life?
If you’re not sure, use my blog about 5 Steps to Define Your Own Success to evaluate what matters to you and how you’re working to achieve your own version of success.
Once you know how to define success in a way that is meaningful to you, you can use your Success List to guide your career decisions.
Whether you’ve been working for years, or are just getting started, regrets can always set in.
We often think about the “what-ifs” and convince ourselves that the grass is truly greener in another job, but this isn’t always true.
Really quickly, I’ll go over the most common mid-career regrets:
Even if you love what you’re doing, at some point you are going to have to put in hard work. It might be work that challenges you mentally, physically or emotionally, but it will challenge you.
You may think you want an easy job, or just to turn your hobby into a paid gig, but waking up each morning and looking forward to the day ahead often comes from experiencing continued growth through challenges.
Even something you love can become difficult when you turn it into a job, because when you do an activity all day long and depend on it for survival, the playfulness can disappear quickly.
Continue to strive for grow in your career in personal, professional, and spiritual ways.
Personal growth can come from trying to be early into work on a regular basis, or getting along with a co-worker who knows how to get under your skin.
If you’re a workaholic, personal growth can also come from learning how to find a better balance between your work life and life outside of work.
Professional growth can come from a mentor, and if you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend seeking one out.
Related: Bootstrap – Why Mentorship Matters
Professional growth can also come from company lunch-and-learns, reading books or blogs about topics you’re interested in knowing better, going to conferences, or enrolling in continued education courses.
Spiritual growth can come from starting your days with gratitude and meditation, or finding time at work to have a quiet mind to centre yourself.
Whatever your personal journey is, you can make room for spiritual growth in your career.
Naturally, our brains are designed to keep us safe. Taking risks of any kind can feel dangerous, even if the “danger” isn’t as real as it seems.
Our aversion to take risks is our brains way of trying to maintain a status quo, keep us in our comfort zone and feel safe. However, it is also what causes us to be stuck, resist growth and thus fall short of meeting our full potential.
Do your research and seek out advice from mentors/peers/family you trust, but in the end you need to make your own decision based on what you know is right for you.
When we ask for other people’s opinions they sometimes project their fears onto us in a bid to keep us safe.
Being authentic and designing your own life may not come easy, but part of living your destiny and not your shadow career is being able to live with and even embrace uncertainty.
If you know that it is time for you to move on, to learn something new, to change your career direction or to start your own business, you will not be fulfilled until you take action.
As a society, we are obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder.
Sometimes moving sideways, onto a new ladder, will bring you much more happiness and fulfillment.
Take time to look up; where is your career heading, and does that bring you excitement or apprehension?
Searching for happiness at the top of a corporate ladder can lead you to become disappointed and cause you to miss out on important moments in your life.
So every 1-3 years, take some time to consider how far you’ve come, the path that you’re on, and where you want your future to go.
A lot of people make career decisions without knowing what they’re working toward. If you make a decision that is only based on moving “up” you will most likely experience career regret.
Take the time to consider the type of work that plays to your strengths, develops some of your weaknesses and work that energizes you. Find ways to add more of that in your work life, and you will experience less regret.
Time you enjoy spending is never time wasted.
Sometimes it’s okay to take a step backward or sideways to get to a happier place.
A work-life balance doesn’t exist, we bring work home with us emotionally and physically.
Sometimes we spend so much time working it feels like we never go home at all.
Do you know why you’re working?
Is it to make more money, or is it bigger than that? While we do need money to support ourselves and our families, being trapped around money can keep us from making changes to get away from toxic situations or investing in ourselves to move towards a more authentic life.
There will be pros and cons to every job you have, in whatever career you’re in.
Weigh them carefully to understand what matters most to you.
In the end, your career path, your success, and your happiness depends on you.
Use your definition of success and your personal Success List to guide your career decisions.
Even with all of this knowledge, you may still find yourself feeling some mid-career regrets. Just know that your time has not been wasted.
You can learn valuable lessons from every experience in life, and mistakes do not lead to failure unless we fail to learn from them.
Frank
