We’re just a couple days away from Small Business Month! What a time to be Canadian. Although the economy has seen some downside recently, its another opportunity to reflect and plan ahead for the future. Small Business Month celebrates the important contributions entrepreneurs make to the Canadian economy and to their local communities.
I pride myself in being a part of a growing organization and remember those days in which I only had 3 employees in the office. This October I encourage small business owners and entrepreneurs to take the time to develop your business ideas or to find new and exciting ways to improve and grow your business. Here’s some tips that I’ve listed below to help you with your goals:
- Never Stop Networking. Don’t Give Up, never stop networking, and never stop pushing. It’s easy to give up when everybody around you is telling you ‘you can’t do it’. You have to be around positive people.
- It’s all about mindset and positive thinking. Our first three years were brutally tough. Every day was about survival. Your mind is everything, yet it’s not what you know, but rather how you deal with it. It is about your mindset and positive thinking.
- To Get PR, Offer Yourself up as a Thought Leader. If you are a local small business, look at local media for PR. Read those publications, forge relationships, find out what types of stories the journalists are covering, and offer yourself up as a thought leader on a topic.
- Put Processes in Place in Your Business to Ask for Referrals. Put processes in place in your business that ask for referrals. And make sure the customer experience is above expectations.
- Your Sales Pipeline Should Qualify Leads at Every Step. You need to set up a process to convert the most leads possible. Put them in a sales pipeline and add checkpoints to determine those who are qualified, versus those who aren’t.
- Reach out to Mentors and Peers. Entrepreneurship is one of the loneliest professions in the world. The entrepreneurs that are really successful reach out in networking groups and peer associations or just to one person. They need that thought partner. Make sure you engage with someone you look up to and ask them for mentorship. This will go a long way.
I hope some of these suggestions help. If you’re starting a small business I’m happy for you. It’s not an easy journey but trust me it’s worth it.
Have a great week.
Frank.