We are huge fans of podcasts. We live in a time where we can get a quality education while driving, at the gym, or out shopping.
One person who provides so much wisdom each week is Natalie Eckdahl of the Biz Chix podcast. She recently shared eight of her best strategic tips for small businesses, here’s a summary:
#1 Business is a marathon, not a sprint
We can stay connected so much faster than ever before, there’s a lot coming at us at a very fast pace. It can make us feel anxious. We don’t have to fast track our businesses. Imagine creating a 5-year, 10-year plan, or even a 25-year plan. Where will it be and what do you want it to look like? Think more long term, because building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. It must be sustainable, and we don’t want you to burn out.
What we’re trying: Taking every other weekend for family time. In our industry, this is especially hard, and doesn’t mean we don’t sneak some work in. But we prioritize family time those weekends so we can fill up on love and feel good about the long hours we pour into the business. This can mean watching a movie together, going to breakfast together, doing a fun activity together, etc.
#2 Know your profit goal
This is the amount of money you’re going to take from your business account and move to your personal account. If you don’t have two separate accounts for business expenses and personal salary, do this first. If you don’t know how to do this, go to a bank and they’ll tell you what you need to bring (our tip: check out a credit union, they offer free accounts, great rates with very good terms).
Think about how much income you want to earn and the business to profit. We look at what your expenses are, add those up and that’s what our revenue goal is. Think about how much you’d need to impact your personal life in a positive way.
Take the time and review these numbers monthly. If you need to make $5,000 to take home monthly, set a revenue goal to earn that amount.
It may be that you need to ramp up to that number, so, you may want to create a monthly ‘good, better, and best’ goal (i.e. $2,000, $3,500, and $5,000)
What we’re trying: We started with an annual revenue goal, then worked backward to determine what our monthly sales goals are. This also helps understand if we are spending too much on business expenses as well.
#3 Do more of what’s working
It sounds so simple! But it’s important to reflect back on the outreach, talks, networking events, etc that you’ve done, and think about how they generated leads. Or think about your dream clients. Where are they coming from? Referrals from specific people? Look at your numbers. Understand where your clients are coming from and try to do more of what brings in the most leads.
What we’re trying: Monthly leadership day to review our numbers. We have a dashboard that shows how many followers we have on social, how many email addresses, how many new leads. This helps us reflect back on the month and determine what to do more or less of in the following month.
#4 Trading your time for money is lucrative & profitable
Natalie recommends focusing on growing your current business and working with lots of people. If you are known for a product or service you provide, work as hard as you can to be the best in that space, and focusing on one thing can make it easier for people to recommend you to new clients. When you add new offerings, sometimes it can slow down the momentum you’ve built from the original offering.
What we’re trying: Focusing on completing our site and making it better and better. We have a million ideas to do a lot of add ons, but our core business is creating Festively.com, the go-to marketplace to find and book party essentials, and we will work to make it the best among any competitors.
#5 Embrace experimentation
You may have a great idea for a new product or service. Before you go full force with the new idea, offer it to a few clients first. Get feedback and a testimonial before you launch it to a broader group. Circle back to your goals and make sure it’s adding to your profit goal. Talk to someone to find out the actual amount of time and money it will take to implement it. Is it worth it? Or will it be a distraction. Give your idea a try, start small, do an experiment.
What we’re going to try: Our One Festively community! We’ve been debating about starting one because we want to make sure we can dedicate the time to do it right, and not pull us away from the maintenance and ongoing work needed on Festivley.com. But we’re working on it and can only get better with time.
#6 Look for best practices outside of your industry
Observe how others sell to you. Sign up for email lists just to see their headlines, images, and copy. Follow people on social media that are outside of your industry so you can get different ideas. If not you will look and sound the same as everyone else. Listen to different music. Tour a factory. Shop different stores. Watch different shows. You just never know where you will get inspiration from.
What we’re trying: Reading articles about mindfulness and listening to new podcasts about psychology. We are loving “Hidden Brain.”
#7 Don’t take advice from people who don’t understand your ideal client
People often ask for advice from Facebook groups or friends or family. The best person to give you advice is your ideal client. Dig deep to learn what motivates them, and understand how they think.
What we’re going to try: A survey! We’re sending out a survey to people in the event industry to ask about their challenges. What a better way than to ask folks directly. If you’d like to give us your input, tell us in the comments section here!
#8 Do high touch activities
Don’t be afraid to call someone or text them. Connect on a more personal level. Stop by and say hello. Send a DM to check in and say hello. Personal attention and engagement stands out.
What we’re trying: Sending video messages to clients!
We can’t wait to hear what you try! If this helps, let us know. And to hear the full Biz Chix episode, visit https://bizchix.com/401
