LinkedIn is the social site on which many professionals interact. It is more about networking, sharing professional information and tips and talking business than is Facebook. When you’re on Facebook, chances are you’re showing photos of your cat, sharing recipes, venting about local goings-on and sharing memes. Ever wonder how to get found on LinkedIn and whether it can help grow your business, we have tips.
If you’re looking for a job, looking to stand out, seeking new clients and opportunities, LinkedIn is the platform on which you want to share your skills and comments and insight.
How To Get Found On LinkedIn
If you’re looking for clients and are on LinkedIn, here are ways to make the best impression:
Have a professional profile photo. Don’t share a photo of you on the beach on your last vacation. Keep that photo on your Facebook page. Your LinkedIn page photo should be warm, professional and approachable. Smile. Wear professional clothing – ditch the hoodie and bedhead. Do not leave your photo blank.
Add relevant skills (think keywords and headline) in your bio.
Summarize your experience with bullet-point type sentences in mind. Highlight your contribution to a project. Let a potential client know what you bring to the table.
Ask for recommendations and referrals for your profile.
If you’re reaching out to a potential contact, know who they are and what they do. Don’t do a blanket, “Hey, I saw your profile and thought we should connect.” Be persona, “Hey, John I saw your profile and notice we share a few contacts and that we are both in the XYZ field. I’d love to connect!”
Build relationships before you start to “sell.” Speaking of this, if you automatically send out email messages in LinkedIn when someone connects with you – stop. It’s annoying and it’s automated. You’re not fooling anyone.
A business plan doesn’t have to be so daunting that you decide you might not want to go into business for yourself if you have to craft one. Even if people aren’t talking about business plans – and it seems entrepreneurs are popping up across the country during this pandemic – but they’re not saying what’s in their business plan. They may not even have written a business plan but we’ll bet they have some sort of a roadmap aka business plan, but we have 5 reasons to write a business plan you may not have considered.
5 Reasons To Write A Business Plan
Here are some of the very good reasons the most savvy entrepreneurs – new and established – put together a business plan.
As mentioned – it’s your roadmap. How will you know you have “arrived” if you don’t know what the final destination is? What is success? How will you measure it? This is something your business plan will help you determine.
What will you make and sell or deliver? Knowing that and knowing what your profit margins may be will help determine whether you’re over- or underpricing your services and products. Remember, you need to set a value for your time and that may seem harder to do than setting a value to a product.
If you’re seeking financing or if you’re building a team or working with a team, your business plan will keep everyone on the same path. When you take the time to write it down, you will be more productive and will truly understand the intentions of your business.
When you are in the process of writing down your business plan you may have that “lightbulb” moment and find a way to open the door to more opportunities. When you are doing a deep dive into your customer base and the industry you may find new options you hadn’t identified previously.
Your business plan is your origin story – your business story. The business plan can highlight and help you share the story of your brand and that counts for a lot when connecting with potential customers.
We work with new and existing entrepreneurs and when we are talking with them, we find that having a business plan makes them feel more hopeful for the future of the business and that’s why we are proponents.
Is your marketing department struggling to engage with your staff? Do your staff and some of your vendors follow you on social media? Do they interact? Are they leaving comments on your blog posts? Does your business have a blogging culture? If you’re not sure, now is the time to investigate.
We have tips for how to get your staff involved in “helping” market the business by sharing your content with their friends and family. We know that not all content will appeal to everyone and their followers, but if you encourage your staff, you just might get more reach.
Does Your Business Have A Blogging Culture?
Ask them to get involved. If you don’t talk about your blog posts and social media with your staff, they may not even think about it – nor will they think about interacting and commenting. If you do a company newsletter, mention the blog and social media, give links and ask for interaction.
Information-sharing is what it’s all about. If you have internal teams that rarely interact with your other teams, now is the time to get everyone interacting and sharing info. You’re all in it together, right?
If you have staff who comment or even contribute to your social media pages or your blog, recognize their contributions.
Explain how to interact. Some of your staff may not even know how to interact. Offer a cheat sheet with suggestions.
Let them take ownership in a platform. “Hey, Susie, want to comment on our social media this week? We’d love it! John, you’re up next week.” Make it fun!
There are many ways you can reduce stress and as an entrepreneur, you need to reduce stress to keep yourself healthy and you also need to stay healthy to keep your business running. Many solopreneurs cannot afford to take time off.
5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Reduce Stress
We have some ways to help you reduce your stress. There is no one-size-fits all, but these may help.
Write down what’s bothering you. Sometimes the simple act of writing it down will take away the power the stressful situation had over you. You can take time every day to write down what is stressing you out. You can write down ways in which you could address that situation. Writing it down may also help you brainstorm ways to eradicate it.
Talk with someone. Talk with a friend, family member, colleague or a mental health professional. Stress can lead to suicidal thoughts and the isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to more stress and higher suicide rates. When you talk with someone you are also taking away the power the stressful situation had over you and an outside opinion might help you see a solution you didn’t see on your own.
Get moving. When you’re having emotional or mental stress, taking a walk or meditating or walking the dog can help alleviate it. You may not find a solution to your stress, but moving will help release endorphins and a 15-minute run (or walk) will clear your head and help you sleep better at night.
Find comedy in your life. What is your favorite funny movie or sit com? When is the last time you indulged in it? Take time to simply laugh. Laughing also releases endorphins and tension.
Celebrate the small wins. You don’t need to conquer the highest mountain to celebrate. Walking up a small hill or completing a small task is reason for celebration. Clear your desk. Clean up your computer desktop. Any small win is cause for celebration and that can help you feel more accomplished and this is a great feeling when you feel you’re simply spinning your wheels. Take the wins where you can.
What do you do when the stress becomes too much? Reach out to a friend. Don’t go it alone.
Being an entrepreneur can be hard — there I’ve said it. But being an entrepreneur can be — is — rewarding. When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re not going to arrive at a destination — you will be on a journey for many years. Along the path of your journey you will have ups, downs and smooth sailing. We have tips for how to overcome business obstacles whether you’re a start-up or a long-time entrepreneur.
When you have a setback, step back and determine why, what happened and how you can address it moving forward. When you have a win, celebrate it, make note of what it was, how it happened and do more of that!
How To Overcome Business Obstacles
Here are ways entrepreneurs can overcome obstacles and learn from them.
Acknowledge that you are facing an obstacle. It’s all right to ask for help. It is all right to admit your attempt didn’t yield the fruit you’d imagined it was going to. Process your thoughts, let yourself be angry, then learn from it and move on. Don’t allow yourself the luxury of simply wallowing in your failure — or imagined failure.
The set back you just experienced… was it without your control or outside of it? If it was outside of your control — a supplier had an unexpected rate increase — regroup and come up with a solution. If it was within your control, you need to determine how it happened and what role you played. Write down any setback then also write down any changes you’d implemented that help you move past it.
Who can help? Determine what the obstacle is/was and then find someone who can help. When you seek counsel from a colleague or a business coach you are moving forward and growing as a business owner.
If you find yourself getting stuck in a rut and being unable to move forward, take a day off. Take a walk, Meditate. Get out of your own head. Don’t beat yourself up — learn from the challenge and obstacles.
Drop us a line if you need assistance overcoming business obstacles.
Running a business can be drudgery. Many entrepreneurs go into owning a business and being their own boss with rose-colored glasses. They dream of loads of money and not having to work many hours a day or a week. Reality hits and they get discouraged. We have put together 5 tips to make running a business easier. Keep in mind, that being a business owner is work — but it’s rewarding and you are your own boss.
Keep your chin up! Running a business has become a very viable option for people during this coronavirus pandemic and the shut down of businesses across the country. People have become resourceful as a way to pay the rent and keep food on the table. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive!
5 Tips To Make Running A Business Easier
These tips are not secrets, but new business owners lose sight of them because they may not know they exist and they’re so excited about running a business that they jump in without making a plan.
Create a plan! Being profitable means knowing what to charge, what you need to earn, what your income and expenses are, and how you will get there. A business plan needs to have your goals and your WHY. You should also plan for growth.
Have contracts that you give to vendors and new hires. Talk with a lawyer — yes you may need to have a lawyer on your team — even if you’re a start up. Know what kind of insurance you need to have in place to protect yourself and your goods and services.
Research the competitors. Know how you are different from them. What makes you and your goods and services unique? Why should people choose you over the competition? Make sure it’s not because you’re the lowest price in town.
What are the trends in your industry? Know them and know whether you want to follow them or break them.
Take breaks. Yes, you’re building a business and that takes time and effort, but know that you need to step back and recharge your batteries. If you are a solo operation and you get ill from stress who will take over? The answer is — you should make your health a priority.
Working with a business coach is also a way many business owners thrive. Give us a call today and let’s talk about your business.
