The Month Of May Round Up!

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The month of May is almost over and it was filled with festive events like Mother’s Day (which I hope was enjoyable for you:) and one of my favorite holidays that is coming up; Memorial Day.

I hope you are making time to go outside and enjoy the nice weather wherever you live in the world. This month I started taking a deep dive into marketing and different facets of it. I talked about how to market your business which took a stab at defining marketing along with various steps to take to deliver your marketing message. Finally, I discussed how to identify your target market.

Marketing is the secret sauce to keeping a business in business. If your revenues are starting to decrease in your business you can bet that there is a lack of marketing that is taking place. As you relax and fire up the BBQ pit this weekend for Memorial Day take a few minutes to read over the two blog posts that I created just for you. I hope they help you along your marketing journey.

Keep IT Sunny!

How To Market Your Business?

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The idea of marketing for your business can be confusing and overwhelming. If you are busy with the day-to-day operations of running your business but your revenue is not reflecting your efforts then the most likely culprit is lack of marketing.

What Exactly Is Marketing?

According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Well, that is a mouth full. The key thing to take away from that definition is that marketing includes creating a process to communicate the benefits of your services or products to your customers that provide value to them. The next question is how do you carry out your marketing?

There are a variety of steps that you can take to deliver your marketing message. Over the course of the next few weeks I will take a look at the following areas as suggested by Small Business.WA.Gov.AU:

• Do Market Research

• Identify Your Target Market

• Identify your USP

• Create your business brand

• Select your marketing strategies

• Create your goals & budget

• Take care of your loyal customers

• Monitor and look at your effectiveness

Marketing is essential for any business to survive. The day-to-day operations of running a small business can take precedence over drilling into the intricacies of how to apply marketing techniques to your business. Although it can be time-consuming it is essential for growing your business. I hope the steps above are a starting point for you on your marketing journey.

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Month Of May RoundUp!

The end of May is upon us. I hope you enjoyed Memorial Day with your family and took time out to remember all of our soldiers who fight to help us keep our freedom.

This month we took a look at 3 video conferencing tools to help you stay connected. We also took a look at 5 marketing tools you can use in your business right now. I hope the month of May was very productive for you.

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FALL IS HERE!

Summer is winding down and fall is fast approaching. I hope you enjoyed your downtime and had time to have moments of reflection. We all know that if we are not sharing our business with others and actively doing marketing then we are one step away from not being in business.

:(

This month we will look at different ways to market our business and share what we do with others.

What are some low-cost ways that you use to share your business with others?

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5 Quick Ideas To Attract Your Ideal Clients

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We are in business to deliver a service or a product or both to our ideal clients. What exactly defines an "ideal client"?

According to the site Business News Daily, " Your ideal clients are the people who see the value in your efforts, seek out your services and are willing to invest in your services and pay you what you are worth".

But there seems to be a "mystery" about how to attract our ideal clients. Here are 5 quick ideas on how to do just that:

1. Create a blog that adds value to their lives

2. Create a virtual event that showcases what services/products you sell that will change their lives

3. Create a community that connects them to others who are on a similar journey

4. Create a case study to demonstrate social proof of your services/products

5. Use social media to build your brand & create raving fans

The #1 key to attracting your ideal client is simple: Create value for them. Demonstrate in tangible terms how you can make their lives better. If you answer the "What's In It For Me" question clearly, then you will have more customers than you know what to do with.

Your turn. What are some unique ways that you have seen others try to attract their ideal clients?

Share in the comments below.

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Is Networking Overrated?

As a business owner we have all heard the importance of making time to network.

But is it really necessary?

If you have all your ducks in a row and business is coming in the door and everything is smooth sailing then what is the point? And who has time for that anyway? 

Well if you're a lifestyle entrepreneur and if you aren't sure check out last week's post about that topic then networking is extremely important. As a lifestyle entrepreneur networking is all about making friends and building honest authentic connections with people. Since most lifestyle entrepreneurs work from home or are location independent then carving time out to mix & mingle may seem cumbersome but it is crucial. There are a myriad of ways to network with others such as online via virtual conferences, in person at specialized meetups, local chamber organizations or through volunteerism.

Have you ever found yourself in need of a professional endorsement or a key connection to that "right" person? We all have. I bet you were thinking I wish I would have kept in touch with "fill in the blank". Don't be that person who only reaches out to others when you need something. Get out there make friends and build lasting relationships with other professionals. According to Rishi Chowdhury of the Business Insider, "Your net worth is only as good as your network." Now that's food for thought!

What do you think about the whole idea of networking? Is it overrated, a lost art or necessary in your world?