small business Archives - Page 22 of 29

Here's the thing: marketing

Since leaving notonthehighstreet.com (almost a year ago!), two things have become really clear to me:

1. Online marketplaces are changing. It’s a great model, but NOTHS and Etsy (and even Folksy and smaller sites) are getting too big to guarantee visibility and sales to all who join. Etsy no longer shows all new products on a homepage or category page. NOTHS is so big now, you really have to be featured to gain page views.

2. Creative businesses who’ve seen success on marketplaces often don’t really know how to market themselves. Because it wasn’t necessary to market yourself when NOTHS did it for you (with gumption). Or Etsy provided the visibility naturally. I’ve said it about a hundred times in the last year: so many NOTHS sellers are at 9 out of 10 for general business skills (because they’ve had to be), but 2 out of 10 for marketing skills (because they haven’t had to).

If you’re reading and thinking, OMG, that’s me, don’t panic. You’re not alone, and there’s so much you can do about it.

The first thing to accept is that everything is a work in progress, because the world evolves constantly, and your business will evolve and grow in the next week, not to mention the next year. Your skills as a business owner will continue to develop even if you don’t do very much at all – the experience of running a business is a guarantee of that, no matter what.

Another thing I encourage you to see is that marketing isn’t a terrifying, technical piece of expertise that’s going to take you a degree and ten years’ experience to understand. It’s not. Marketing is basically flirting, and even before it’s that, it’s just talking to people. Hopefully about your business and your products.

People ask me for marketing advice all the time, and to be honest, it still stumps me on occasion. I still fall to the belief that you have to be “in marketing” to know what it is, or that you have to have detailed knowledge and understanding of Facebook or Google and how they work. There have been times, when faced with so many questions and so much fear, I’ve questioned whether I know about marketing at all! And then I remember that, in fact, I do – and it’s not as complicated or scary as the questions in front of me.

Marketing is not advertising.

Advertising (paid-for ads in magazines, newspapers, blogs, Facebook, shops, tubes, etc) might form part of your marketing strategy, but that’s not all marketing is. And advertising is changing – because consumers are changing. We’re used to online ads now, and magazine ads. Yes, it’s a good way to get visibility and awareness up (if you’re targeting the right kind of people with an ad), but it’s not a guarantee of sales.

If you choose to use paid-for advertising, whether on Facebook or in magazine, see it as an experiment that you’ll tweak next time based on the results. And always, always, make sure you’re targeting an audience who are likely to be interested in what you’re selling. (Extra advice: if someone calls you up to sell you advertising, be skeptical. Even if it’s Vogue.)

SEO isn’t complex.

Geek out over SEO research or other people’s reports if it floats your boat. But here’s my tried-and-tested experience: good content is good content, and if you write well, post good images (with image tags) and build links to your page or site, your online content will get found. There. One sentence. You can totally do that.

As with many things in small business, it’s often better to delegate what you’re not an expert in. But I encourage you to experiment with being your own marketing strategist, because there are charlatans out there. And you can totally do this. You might seek out a copywriter if that isn’t your forte. You may ask someone to manage your social media or advertising experiments, but be involved in the big questions, so that you know what works and what doesn’t for your business.

Marketing is something that you can do on your own terms. So embrace that, and get it working for you.

Here’s the thing:

Marketing is about consistency. Keep sharing your products, your message, your brand with people. And yes, keep sharing the same things with them. Variations on a theme, if you will.

Some things to do:

Find three marketing messages for your business. A basic example: ‘We sell shoes.’ ‘Our shoes are handmade.’ ‘We (and our products) are fun and high quality.’ Make sure every single thing you send out points to at least one of those messages.
Get the big paper out and plan your social media and other marketing. Create a marketing plan that involves regular posts on social media, regular advertising tests (should you wish), and regular press releases. Notice the most-used word in that sentence: REGULAR. You have to keep putting things out there, every week.
Send out press releases and samples to people who will like your products. Find magazines and bloggers who are talking to your audience, who are aligned with what you’re making. Create a press release that tells them, lovingly, about you and your products. Show them nice shiny images, or post them a sample of your product. Tell them where to find you online and how to get in touch. Do this for every new product. And consider doing something now for Christmas.

And I know there will be some of you who are already posting regularly (or not) and feel like you’re sending message out into a black hole, a void that never sees or returns your calls. That may be a signal that you need to shake it up. Post more images, if you’re always posting words. Or make sure all your images have nice captions, calls to action, or discussion points. Post elsewhere, targeting different people. Do something that simply brings a smile to people’s faces. That’s the point of marketing – make people feel good and associate it with you.

I promise marketing isn’t as complex or scary as it sounds. Every business is different and needs different things, so this is all about experimenting with what works for you.

My upcoming course, Inspired Action, will spend an entire week on marketing, and will include a lovely marketing planner. If you’re wondering about how to build your marketing skills and strategy, it might be just the thing for you. Read more and register here.

Have a lovely weekend!

Here's the thing: simple abundance

As I write, I have a list of ten blog posts I want to write. This subject of simple abundance didn’t quite make the list this week, especially as I posted about finding enough last week, but it really feels like what I want to say today, so here it is.

Abundance is a challenging concept when we’ve lived in a world that forces scarcity down our throats in a bid to get us to work really hard, buy the “right” things. In a world where having the majority of people feel inadequate is “good” for business – good for capitalism.

Abundance is a challenging concept for small business owners, entrepreneurs and creatives. When you’re self-employed, there’s a leap of faith. A client asked me this week if I thought that it ever stops being uncertain. The answer, truthfully, is no, I don’t think life ever stops being uncertain, we just get better at trusting it and ourselves. We just get better at making huge leaps of faith.

Abundance is a challenging concept for parents, especially when you’re a small business owner, but also just in general. It can feel like there’s an infinite amount of time, money, and energy you need or could spend on your children and your life. And how do you teach your children the resilience required to live in a world that believe in scarcity, when you’re afraid yourself?

First, let’s just decide to believe that you are stronger than you currently believe. You have resources you haven’t even dreamt of. Or perhaps you remember a time in your life when you really had to dig deep – you know what you have within you. Except there’s more.

And then let’s decide that there’s enough in the world for everyone. There’s plenty, in fact. Perhaps that’s quite a suspension of disbelief for you. Just try it on for a while. There’s plenty of time, money, resources, customers, ideas, opportunity, love, space. It’s just a matter of seeing it.

The trick, really, is to be able to see it.

And that requires a hell of a lot of strength. Because you have to get really clear about what you want more of (and what you don’t). You have to keep holding yourself to want you want, and set up all these boundaries around it, so that you’re not leaking out your time and energy to things that don’t give you what you want.

That hour you spent scrolling through Facebook? Not giving you what you want. The time you spent lying awake wondering what to do about such and such project? Not giving you what you want. The energy you spend second guessing yourself, or the world, or your customers? Not giving you what you want.

Here’s the thing:

Start finding your own simple abundance in the everyday. Discover for yourself that there’s plenty right in front of you. And start finding the leaks and gently, carefully, sealing them up.

Abundance is the fully functional tap in your kitchen. As much water as you like, whenever you like! And hey, is that a kettle I see over there? You already have the means to make as much delicious, comforting tea as you like. Do not compromise on tea. Get your absolute favourite out right now and enjoy it! Maybe you even spend a moment feeling grateful for everyone who has made it possible for you to drink such a delicious cup of tea – the tea-pickers, the tea company, whoever invented tea bags or tea pots, the shop you bought it from, the plumber who hooked you up to the water main, the kettle manufacturer. Simple abundance, in a cup.

Abundance is the 10,000 (approximate figure) opportunities I see on a daily basis. To create an amazing pop up shop. To send out brilliant press releases. To put yourself out there. To add personalisation to that product. To improve your photography. Endless tweaks, and big business ideas. But listen: you can’t see them if you’re caught up in scarcity or fear or busy-busy. You get to choose how busy you are. Choose the things that bring you closer to abundance, rather than feeling unfocused and weary.

Some leaks to fix:

Social media. Switch off your notifications for at least an hour a day, if not more. Feel the clarity rush back into your brain.
Working when you’re over-tired. Rest is essential to productivity. The better rested you are, the more efficient you’ll be. Sleep. Have a lie down. Seriously, have a lunch break or a quiet sit today.
Requests you don’t want to agree to. Do you keep getting caught up in doing people favours that aren’t fun, or dealing with customer requests that take up your time? Put a boundary around your time and sanity, and say no. Consistently. With grace. And then move on.
Email. I don’t have the answers to this, but start by unsubscribing from anything you don’t read. And then set up filters or rules to move any notifications into a folder. Simple abundance.

These are the small tasks that take courage, energy and strength to do the first time. But I promise that as you do them more, they’ll become less of an effort. You’ll be able to say no with ease, and you’ll realise how much benefit you get out of keeping your energy for yourself and your business.

Abundance is simple. It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be a sudden increase in sales or income. It doesn’t have to be a mansion or a yacht. It can be a cup of tea and an entire hour to yourself.

Give yourself abundance. The world isn’t going to. But you definitely can.

PS My new ecourse, Inspired Action, is now open for registration. Taking place in July, it’ll include four weeks of inspiration and guidance to help you start or improve selling online. It’s basically everything I know about setting up shop! Read more and register here.

Here's the thing: defining enough

When you’re working by yourself, in charge of everything, it can be really hard to decide when to stop working, when to finish a product, when to say ‘I’ve done enough today/this week/for now’.

This has become a theme in recent conversations with clients, and having also made some headway myself on this, I thought I’d share some guidance on how to define ‘enough’ for yourself.

And I want to caveat this post by saying that I, too, am walking the line a lot of the time. I don’t do this perfectly. It’s a practice. I’m working on it.

And let’s work from a place where we all know that cultivating the belief that we are enough – good enough, wonderful enough, worthy of love and belonging – is vitally important to our wellbeing as human beings. Practicing doing enough won’t get you there all by itself – you also need to work on the fundamental belief – but it will help.

So. Let’s dig in.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe that enough is defined by an external measurement. Or at least, that’s the way to madness. If someone else gets to decide when you’ve done enough, or when you’re a worthy person/business, you’re going to spend your entire life hustling for someone else’s approval. And, seriously, that’s never going to bring you happiness.

Defining enough by other people’s standards or approval might look like:

Being ‘enough’ when you force yourself to work 9 to 5 (or beyond) because you ‘have to’
Being ‘enough’ when you achieve a certain number of sales per week, month or year (that rapidly increases when you get there)
Being ‘enough’ when they like you
Being ‘enough’ when you’re featured as much as other people
Being ‘enough’ when you can say yes to every single opportunity that comes your way without struggling

These are just some examples. I think it’s important to note that defining yourself by a sales target is troublesome for me, because you’re ultimately relying on other people (customers, clients) to ‘approve’ of you, like your products, take an action that you can’t control.

And this is about defining ‘enough’ for you, within the realms that you can control, or at least significantly influence.

Last week, I announced on Facebook that I won’t be taking on any more clients until at least July. That decision was scary. I’d been thinking about it for about a month before I finally made the call. Yes, I was still scared when I put it out there. It’s brave. But ultimately it’s a decision that came with a whole bucket of relief, and has allowed me to feel like I’ve done enough each day since.

I knew that I was taking on too much work – way more than I could complete to my high standards. It felt like I was never at the end of the to-do list, that I’d never done enough at the end of each day.

So, I asked, what would be enough for me to do each day?

I’ve asked myself this before, when I started my business. But that was nearly a year ago. Some of the things I put in place still ring true, but my daily and weekly routines are much better defined now.

My daily enough has themes, but it changes from day to day. For example, on Wednesdays, I have three client calls, which is a lot for me. I have allowed myself to make those calls the minimum to reach ‘enough’ for that day. I don’t have to do anything else to have done enough. Sure, I often complete my notes as well, or get through some project work, or emails. But I don’t pile on the pressure to do any more than show up for those calls.

You might decide that enough is getting out orders for the day. Anything else is a bonus. Of course, you might get 50 more orders a day, and you can’t control that, so you might decide to define a number for yourself.

Here’s the thing…

How to define enough for yourself:

Set the bar low. If you expect yourself to achieve too much within a given timeframe, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Focus only on the things you can directly control. I can’t control how a client is going to feel after a call. I can’t make it a success, or guarantee I’ll give them exactly what they need. All I can do is show up, without distractions, with an open mind and heart, with all my experience, and without judgement or agenda.
Do not compare yourself to others. Their enough is not your enough. You cannot see the resources they have available, as much as you might like to think so.
Start by defining enough for each day as it comes. Then collect the themes together. Sometimes each day or week requires its very own enough, rather than trying to cookie-cutter your enough definition amidst shifting circumstances.

Some additional questions to ask yourself:

How many hours would be enough today? I typically don’t force myself to start ‘work’ – emails, phone calls, projects – until 10am. I spend a huge chunk of the morning reflecting, setting up my day, so that I’m settled and fully present. Low bar.
What’s really, truly essential? Don’t let anyone else define, for you, what’s important to do today. Just because someone expects an immediate response to an email doesn’t mean you have to give it, especially if it’s not a priority for you.
How will you respond to the unexpected? If your child is sick and you suddenly have to drop everything to take care of them, can you shift your ‘enough’ definition? Because you won’t be able to do what you usually do. And you’ll still have done enough, you’ll still be enough.

These are really just starting points on how to define enough. I think it is an ongoing practice, and inevitable is a personal practice, too.

My hope is that you’ll start to think differently about what you hold yourself accountable to. Feeling enough is something we all struggle with, and some of us it’s a daily struggle, especially when we’re caught up in society’s standards of perfection and a very specific picture of what it means to be ‘good at your job’, or even acceptable.

Please start to shake off those definitions created by other people who have no idea what your dreams are, what your challenges are, what you’re capable of.

Imagine defining enough as something achievable every day, and being able to end each day feel like you’ve done it all. You wouldn’t have to worry about the things you haven’t done, spending precious energy on something you can’t control. Imagine all the energy you’d have to slowly, consciously, carefully, do the things that really matter to you.

For me, it’s about making a significant difference in the lives of my clients. If I’m too tired to listen properly, or too overwhelmed to remember what we talked about last week, I’m not meeting my side of the bargain.

What do you define as ‘enough’? I’d love to hear!

Marketing is not advertising.

SEO isn’t complex.

Here’s the thing:

Here’s the thing:

Enter The Forge