Business Tips Archives - My PINK Pages

Communication And Follow Up In The Business World

Out of all the skillsets that are necessary to be a success, communication is perhaps the most important. Think about it. Communication is the only way for us to share concepts, ideas, feelings or plans. It’s the only way we can tell others about ourselves. If you own a business, it’s the only way to attract the attention of new customers and keep the attention of current customers. Since customers mean sales and sales mean profits, communication is actually currency. In other words, the manner in which you communicate is directly related to how much money you make. That is a powerful thought.

If communication is related to financial success, then it stands to reason that only good communication skills have value. Therefore, if one of your goals is financial success, you need to take the time to hone your communication skills and develop the most effective way to talk to your customer base. One of the best places to start this process …

In Business It’s Just as Important to Sell YOU!

When many business owners start out, they tend to emulate those they respect in their industry. This is not a mistake but rather a first step on the path to real business success. You will know that you’re on the road to long-standing success, however, when you’re able to sell YOU rather than to stand in the shadows of your mentor, coach, or business idol. Here’s how to let your personality shine through for better business today and tomorrow. * Be yourself - One of the easiest ways to be yourself and share your true personality is through your communications. This can be through your email messages, your blog posts, your social networking interactions and through your content efforts. When you write or speak with anyone in your industry - client, prospects or business associates, let your personality and communication style shine through. For example, if you have a knack for colorful metaphors, use them. If you have a very animated face when you speak, don…

What Successful Mompreneurs Have in Common

If you’ve ever wondered how some women seem to be able to do it all and have it all, you’ve come to the right place. The first thing to know is that that there’s no such thing as a Super Mom, and that women who appear to have it all, don’t. What they do have is a life that works well for them. And you can too. Successful mom entrepreneurs all have a few key characteristics: * Confidence, or at least a willingness to take a risk. Everyone, even the most seemingly perfect person has insecurities. The difference between successful mom entrepreneurs and others is they have the ability to take a risk. This takes both a high level of confidence and the ability to push past any insecurities and surge forward to achieve what they want. * Resilience, which means a positive attitude and the ability to adapt (because what are you going to do when your youngest gets sick on the day of a big teleconference?). Successful mom entrepreneurs are great at bouncing back from mistakes a…

Have You Ever Thought About Starting a Business of Your Own?

If you have ever thought about starting your own business, its important to know who you are and if you have the "qualities" it takes to have an Entrepreneurial Mindset? There are several ways to tell if you have this entrepreneurial mindset. Moreover, there are just as many ways to clear the road to becoming an entrepreneur. To Have the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Consider these Personality Traits: ___ Leadership qualities ___ Creative thinking ___ A feeling that there is something more than what you are doing in your current job ___ Innovative ideas If you show any or all of these qualities, you could very well be on your way to owning your own business because you do have that entrepreneurial spirit. How to Clear the Road toward Entrepreneurial Success (photo courtesy of Freepik) Going from the 9:00 to 5:00 grind to the entrepreneurial spirit may not be the easiest path, but it is something you can achieve. However, there are several steps you need to t…

5 Tips For Crafting Compelling Subject Lines

When it comes to email marketing, the first thing you need to get right is the subject line. If you can’t get your subscribers to open your emails, it really doesn’t matter how good the actual email content is. It’s easy to spend a lot of time crafting a great message and then just slap a subject line on it at the end. Spend some time writing them and see what type of headline gets you good open rates. Here are five tips to get you started. Keep It Short You want your readers to see the entire subject line before they click it. You also want to make it easy for people to scan through their emails. Try to get your point across in 50 characters or less. Pay attention to how your subject lines look on your own devices. Another great idea is to keep a swipe file of subject lines that grabbed your attention. Even if the emails are on a very different topic, you can adapt them for your own needs. Avoid “Spammy” Words Stay away from using any words we all associate w…

Are You a ‘Mompreneur’? Then you Need a Good Support System

One of the most challenging aspects of being a 'mompreneur' (mom entrepreneur) is learning how to ask for help. Of course, before you’re ready to turn to your support system, you have to recognize or build one. Here’s how to build a good support system. * Family. If you have family nearby, they’re often the easiest to turn to. After all, that’s what family is for, right? You help each other when you need it. If you’re new to asking for help (and many mompreneur suffer under the delusion that they can and have to do it all), then family is usually a great place to begin asking for help. Ask them to watch your children during crunch times in your business, or to help you take care of errands and chores and remember to return the favor. Once you get accustomed to asking for help from family, taking the next step and turning to friends, neighbors and associates won’t be so difficult. * Friends. Friends are the next easiest group of people to add to your suppo…

Top 7 Analytics/Statistics to Track in Your Business

Small business owners are great at creating products and services. This is because entrepreneurs are "idea people" at their core. Some are even great at developing an initial customer base. Unfortunately, many business owners don't know the crucial ins and outs of business management. Track the following 7 metrics and you will have a much better understanding of how to make your business successful. 1. Customer acquisition cost How much does it cost for you to acquire a new customer? This important business metric can include a lot of factors. Your personal time, marketing efforts, business insurance, utilities, payroll, and several other expenses come into play here. Your customer acquisition cost should be expressed as how much money you spend to bring in new business divided by the number of customers you acquire over a certain period of time. 2. Lifetime customer value How much revenue does every new customer generate for you over their lifetime? Business ow…

The 5 Considerations You Need to Make When Creating Your Business Plan

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." That quote has been bandied about for so long, it is difficult to accurately determine who said it first. It has been credited to Benjamin Franklin and other great minds. Regardless who first made the statement , or since, it has definitely proven true where launching and managing a business is concerned. When creating your business plan, remember the following 5 important considerations that will help you achieve your goals. 1. Raising capital Forbes magazine reported that 8 out of 10 businesses fail within their first 18 months. What is the principal reason behind that 80% failure rate? The primary reason businesses big and small, off-line and online, fail so quickly is a lack of capital. You need upfront money to launch your business. You should also set some plan for a continual influx of capital, whether that be through sales, outside investors and venture capitalists, or diverting your personal income to your b…

Twelve Tips to Develop Your Online Media Kit

An online media kit is a page on your website where media and potential advertisers can learn what they need to know about your company. It generally contains: * Company overview * Summary of your products and services * Press releases or newsworthy items * Professional credits * Advertising rates * Traffic and demographic information * FAQs * Case studies, success stories, or testimonials * Professional surveys or reports * A calendar of industry or media appearances It makes sense to make sure you have a top-notch media kit available to interested parties. The promise of potential media coverage will undoubtedly boost your business and profits. And an increase in advertising sales, if you sell ad space on your website, is always welcome. Here are the top tips to develop your online media kit: * Make sure your press releases and newsworthy items are up-to-date and that they’re organized with the most recent release at the top. * Take the time to craft c…

How Savvy Women Who Work from Home Stay Motivated

Here are a few tips to help savvy work at home moms (WHAM) stay focused and motivated. #1 – Set a schedule. One of the best ways to stay productive when working from home is to separate work from home. By setting work hours you say to the world and to yourself “I’m now working and can only deal with work.” Once your work hours are finished you can then move on to other tasks. This is exactly what you would do if you worked outside the home. Being strict with yourself and setting a work schedule means that you not only get more done but you keep motivation at an all time high. It’s very demoralizing to fall behind on your work and this can really send any motivation you have into a nose dive. Avoid this trap by working to a set schedule. #2 – Create a goals board. Creating a visual reminder of why you do what you do is extremely motivating. This can be a simple cork board that you add written goals to. You can also add pictures of your family and other reminders…

Are you a Maker? – How to Earn Money from Your Passion

Do you love to create things? Do you have a talent for putting together intricate and interesting designs? Can you create practical items along with works of art? If you have a passion for crochet for instance, you might be delighted to know you can make money from it. Here’s how: #1 Decide what main type of crochet item(s) you want to focus on. For example, if you make a great winter hat, then perhaps that is your niche. What about holiday stockings, mittens, pet clothes, or handbags? If you have a specialty crochet item you like to make or are often requested to make, that may be the perfect place to start. #2 Create a small inventory. This inventory will be the items you use to market your business. You’ll take photos of them and use them on your marketing materials, your website and your product catalog. It makes sense to take your time and create some truly special items. #3 Decide how much time you can invest in your business and create some goals. If, for ex…

What to Expect From a Coach

There are many different coaching styles and just as many opinions as to which is best. Here is a list of what you can expect from the coaching relationship: Visionary: A coach helps you envision your desired outcome. Strategist: A coach helps you map out a plan to reach your goals. Partner: A coach helps you reach the desired goal. Trainer: A coach teaches you the skills, strategies and techniques to address your concerns. Resource: A coach provides resources and connections to ensure your success. Listener: A coach listens. Motivator: A coach inspires. Supporter: A coach provides support in difficult times. Advisor: A coach offers advice to help you grow. Guide: A coach helps you get and stay on track. Helper: A coach assists you with difficult assignments. Assertive: A coach is direct when needed. Accountability: A coach helps you reach your goals by checking in regularly. Coachin…

Real Growth Requires You To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Can you think back on a time of real growth, be it in business, in your personal life, or anywhere else? More than likely, you had to step out of your comfort zone for that growth to happen. Yes, we can make progress by doing what we’ve always done. But it will be slow and more importantly, by staying within your comfort zone, you are limiting your potential growth. It’s when we step out of that zone, try something new, take a bit of a risk, and allow for personal and professional growth that we start to see big changes for the better. Let’s say you goal is to grow your reach and get out in front of a larger audience. What you’ve done so far, and what feels comfortable is writing a blog post a week and then sharing it on social media. Yes, some readers will find you. Yes, if you double or triple your efforts, publishing more posts per week and sharing more often across all your social media accounts, you will see some growth and engagement. But you’re staying in your comfort…

To Engineer Explosive Growth In Your Business You Must Stack Your Efforts

In order to create explosive growth in your business, you must take actionable steps like writing down your goals as well as mindset pieces like the one about stepping out of your comfort zone. In this article we are going to talk about combining those pieces into something that can give you that explosive growth you want. You see when you use the basic concept of exponential growth to your advantage, it doesn’t take very much progress in any one area to see big results. We briefly touched on this idea back on day three when we talked about increasing traffic, subscribers, and customers to add to our bottom line. Today we expand on this whole idea in a few different ways and tie it all back into setting goals and business planning in general. The idea is to make progress on your goals and stack them in a way that gives you leverage. Here’s an example. Let’s say your first goal is to grow your current part time income by $500 a month so you can quit your day job. Followin…

Inexpensive Ways to Manage Time

Are you an internet marketer? If so, you may spend all day on the computer. Unfortunately, the computer and the internet makes distractions easy. For example, researching marketing forums for new ideas is ideal, but not if you spend hours carrying on personal conversations with other members. To be a successful internet marketer, time management is important. Unfortunately, many new to the business assume time management is difficult or costly. Yes, it can be, but there are easy and affordable approaches you can take. A few cheap ways to manage your time are highlighted below. 1 – Create a To Do List A to-do list is a cheap time management tool, as all you need is a pen and a piece of paper. If you prefer, your list can be complied in Microsoft Word or a spreadsheet. Each morning or the night before, create a to-do list for yourself. What tasks do you need to accomplish throughout the day? For example, do you want to approach webmasters for banner exchanges or research…

Why You Should Write to One Person On Your Blog

People end up on your blog a number of ways. They may be referred to you by friends or colleagues, or reach one of your blog posts through an Internet search. However someone finds your blog, that person doesn't care how many other people you are trying to reach. If you receive 1000 unique visitors to your blog each month, none of those human beings is thinking about any of the others. This is why it is extremely important to write in the second person. This means addressing your content to the words you, yourself and yours. No matter how much traffic you get, your blog is visited by a single person at a time. If someone was talking to you, across a coffee table in a friendly chat, wouldn't you prefer it if they spoke to you as an individual, rather than a member of a group? People love being recognized for who they are as an individual. When you write your content as if you are speaking to that individual, a single person, that person that reads your content as if you…