When you’re striking out on your own and giving your employer your two-week notice to become the boss, it’s a wonderful feeling! Perhaps you’ve retired or been downsized and you think there is no time like the present to become an entrepreneur. Have you ever wondered what the benefits of being the boss are? There are many. Keep in mind, though, there are also drawbacks you may not have considered.
We will share the good and the bad that comes with being the boss and reasons you may want to be your own boss.
The Benefits Of Being The Boss
You’re the boss. What you say is what goes. You have to answer to your clients, but you don’t have someone breathing down your neck making sure you make quota. Keep in mind, though, if you’re not motivated and can’t take the initiative you will likely not succeed in your own business.
What goes right is your success, what goes wrong is your fault. Along with the good comes the bad. You’re on the line for it all. You won’t be riding on the success of your team (unless you already have one) the successes and failures will be because of your efforts. Keep in mind, though, a failure is simply an experiment — if something didn’t work, course correct and try it again.
Your schedule is your own. Want to take Fridays off? Go ahead! Want to go golfing on a Tuesday morning? Why not! When you own a business you don’t have to clock in at a specific time nor are you expected to be at your desk for eight hours. This may also mean you have too much freedom and may miss deadlines or always feel under a crunch because you’ve had too many tee times or coffee dates. You will have flexibility, but remember you also have a business to run, and probably bills to pay.
The sky is the limit on your earnings. If you were working for a salary, what you were paid is what you were paid. When you own your own business, the sky is the limit on your earnings. You can work as hard as you want and see rewards in the growth of your bank account. If you’re planning to grow, though you may need a team behind you and you should plan for growth and have an infrastructure in place to accommodate that growth.
One of the drawbacks or challenges that many new entrepreneurs face is working alone. It can be daunting to realize you’re responsible for it all. You’re the boss. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in your entrepreneurial journey?
Are you a business owner who’s written a book? Do you think of yourself as an “author-preneur?” Are you using your book as a business card, to get more business, to share your expertise? All of the above and then some? How entrepreneurs should market their books depends, in large part, on the reasons for having written the book.
Some authors want to use their books as giveaways at upcoming talks. Other authors who are entrepreneurs use their books as their business cards — they literally hand out a book instead of a card. Still other entrepreneurs have written books because they know, in a crowded market, a book can help you stand out from the crowd.
How Entrepreneurs Should Market Their Books
Before you put the time and effort or spend the money to hire a book coach or ghost writer you need to know why you’re writing a book and what you hope to gain from it.
Do you hope to make enough money that you can retire? Do you hope your book will bring in a steady stream of passive income — enough to buy a dinner out once a month? Somewhere in between? Know what your goal is before you start.
What role will your book play in your business? Will it be a way to get into more speaking gigs or higher paid speaking gigs?
Do you want a book just as a “bragging right” that you have written one? Nothing wrong with that and it is a major accomplishment.
Are you looking to build an author brand as well as your business brand? Some entrepreneurs transition away from running their business and pursue author-branding endeavors.
Connect with other authors. Building those connections is a great way to enhance your book’s credibility and to expand into other opportunities with your own book.
Writing a book is an ideal way to share your expertise and it truly does set you apart. Many people say they want to write a book, but they have just as many excuses to not write one as you had drive and determination to write yours. Congratulations!
Have you ever opened your inbox and felt yourself cringe when you saw an email from a particular individual? Let’s make sure that individual isn’t you! How to write an effective email is a skill that entrepreneurs need to hone and it’s not usually something anyone talks about.
We’re pulling back the covers and revealing how to write an email that gets results and doesn’t make anyone cringe!
How To Write An Effective Email
Why are you writing the email? Don’t send a “just wanted to say hi” email if you know individuals’ inboxes are deluged — and they are. You can keep in touch, but share information that is worthy of their time to read and your energy to have written. Know your objective before you hit send.
Be brief. If the email has to be long, break it up with bullet points. Highlight what is crucial to the reader. Remember, many people skim emails and if yours is wordy, the point may be lost.
Your subject line needs to be succinct and relevant. The subject line is what will get the email opened, or not — use it wisely and don’t make it overly long.
Keep the acronyms out — unless the recipient knows exactly what they mean. Write in a casual tone.
Remember, there is no body language to back up your words and words maybe taken out of context and feelings could be hurt.
Never use email to berate someone.
Don’t “reply all” if it isn’t necessary — and it usually isn’t. Also, reply all usually means that some of the messages will get lost or buried and crucial information could be lost.
Don’t send emails from your phone unless you’re sure that auto correct won’t change your words to something you definitely didn’t mean.
Email conversations are great and can save time, but emails also mean you and your staff could be faced with them around the clock — and that isn’t an ideal situation. Don’t email your employees at 3 am — they may think you require an immediate answer and unless they are on call 24/7 that isn’t fair to them.
How great is your email etiquette? Does your company have an email policy in place? If not, reach out. We can help.
Aaahhh the beauty of being a business owner is that you can take off every Friday, right? Well, maybe not so fast! If you’re taking every Friday off will your business grow and thrive? Do you take Fridays off? If you do, are you working on another day of the week? Are you working a four day work week consistently and working longer days when you do work?
Hey, as your own boss, you can do what you want, but know that if you don’t put in the time, how will your business grow? Perhaps time doesn’t have to be a factor in your business, but I don’t know too many entrepreneurs who work only a few hours a week and attain success.
Success, though is personal and only you know what success looks like to you.
Do You Take Fridays Off?
If you’re not productive or working on Fridays, and know that you should be, here are some ways to regain control of your Friday and perhaps even be productive when you do!
Plan to attend networking events on Friday.
Schedule client calls or client meetings on Fridays.
Take a class on a Friday.
Teach a class on a Friday.
Set aside time on a Friday to go through the enewsletters you sign up for and read through the trade magazines to stay current.
Use Friday to look at what you’ve accomplished.
Use Friday to plan for Monday and the next week.
Get out of the office and attend a networking event.
Clear out your email inbox so you’re not faced with an overflowing inbox on Monday.
Connect with colleagues.
Use Friday for prospecting calls.
Fridays don’t have to be full work days, but if you know you’re not productive on a Friday, that doesn’t mean you can’t make forward momentum on your business and its growth.
Are you productive on a Friday? What do you do on Fridays to move your business forward?
The excitement of going into business for yourself cannot be denied. You are looking at all the great things you want to do, the customers you want to find and a myriad of other actions that need to be taken when you’re getting off the ground. We have a list of 4 things entrepreneurs need to avoid when just starting out.
4 Things Entrepreneurs Need To Avoid
Take a deep breath, grab a pen and paper or open a document on your computer and ponder these tips we’re offering.
Don’t think you need to immediately, or ever, bring on a partner. Do you truly need a business partner? Is your business something that was launched by more than one of you? Are you thinking, “I need a partner” just because you don’t want to go it alone? Stop and think about the reasons you went into business for yourself. Say that out loud, “for yourself.” If you’re excited about being a business owner chances are you want to do it on your own — if that’s the case, don’t rush into getting a partner.
Keep moving forward even when disappointments arise. Know that disappointments and setbacks will happen. Entrepreneurs have to have the will power to move forward and learn from mistakes.
Know what you’re good at and what you need to outsource. If managing your money or your social media isn’t within your wheelhouse, outsource that and focus on your core competencies.
Remember why you wanted to be an entrepreneur and shout it from the rooftops! Tell anyone and everyone you meet that you’re a business owner. You truly don’t know when or where you will find a new customer. You don’t need to be obnoxious or a boor, but you can certainly say, “I just started my XYZ business.. if you need what I do, please let’s talk!
Congratulations on being an entrepreneur. Go forth and be successful! If you’re struggling with working alone, remember you don’t have to go it alone. Find a coach or join a mastermind group. Talk with us and let’s help you be a success!
Show me the money! That is a famous line from a movie and while you may not be screaming that every time you write a blog post you may be wondering how to monetize your blog, right? Your blog is your company’s 24/7/365 calling card. It is where you share your expertise and your insight. It is the place you direct potential clients so they can see who you are and “hear” your tone.
Your blog also feeds new content to your website and that makes Google think you’re continually adding new content and that’s a great thing.
How To Monetize Your Blog
Here are a few ways you may be able to earn a little bit of money (in some cases, quite a bit of money) from your blog and that will help with the effort and time and, yes, money you put into it.
Affiliate marketing. You can be an Amazon affiliate and if you mention products in your blog post you can link to Amazon and potentially earn affiliate money. You could also partner with a business or a product or service provider who offers affiliate programs if you sell their programs or services.
You can sell advertising space on your site. Be aware that you will need to show a potential advertiser that you have the traffic to warrant their wanting to buy space on your site. Another way to sell ad space is to place ads on your site for products you endorse and you may earn a percentage of sales made when someone clicks on the ad on your site.
Write and sell ebooks. If you have an area of expertise that lends itself to books, write a few. Hire a ghostwriter to write them for you. The books don’t need to be long, short ebooks are popular. Ask us for information if you need a ghostwriter.
If you have a business model that lends itself to a membership site, sell paid membership plans. When you do this, you will need to offer the members perks they can’t get elsewhere, classes, downloads, online sessions with you, etc.
Write a sponsored blog post. Sometimes you may be approached by a brand who will pay you to write have one of their blog posts on your site. This is ideal if you agree with their product or service and their brand. For example if you write a vegetarian living blog, you won’t want to agree to a guest post on the merits of eating beef.
Have you ever looked into ways to make your blog “pay”? If so, how did it work out? What were your challenges? If you’re still searching for inspiration, reach out. We can help!
