7 Ways You Are Missing Out On Getting Your Company Noticed

In today’s guest post, Juliette Schmerler lists seven commonly missed opportunities for exposure, both online and offline. Does this list inspire you to try a new marketing platform?

There are undoubtedly a number of marketing methods that your business is NOT using at the moment to improve your visibility with potential customers. Unfortunately, too many businesses feel that if they have a website, they have done enough to make themselves visible. The truth is, today’s businesses need to make use of many methods in order to make it easy for their customers to connect with them.

Here are just a few methods which are commonly overlooked, but can bring a lot more exposure to your company:

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Look Yourself Straight in the Eye: Questions Entrepreneurs Must Ask

Today we have a guest post from Karen Southall Watts, who tells us to be courageous and ask ourselves the toughest questions about our business. Doing so may not be pleasant but, trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

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You’re tired or cranky. The office seems overly noisy but not productive. Something seems off, but you aren’t sure what.

It happens to all entrepreneurs—the time comes to look in the mirror and ask some tough questions.

Don’t shy away. Just face yourself and you can move on to greater success.

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Hard–Earned Lessons From An (Accidental) Entrepreneur

I wish I could say I always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

After all, my father was one, my brothers run a successful business and I married an entrepreneur.

From my perspective, they worked long hours, talked about business all the time and always seemed to be thinking of taking things “to the next level.”

I didn’t understand that those long hours didn’t seem long enough when it’s spent pursuing your passion. That you cannot help sharing your enthusiasm about what you love and how you are going to change the world to anyone who has a minute to spare. And that having your own business opens up a whole new world of creativity and perseverance that you previously didn’t know existed about yourself.

I didn’t know any of this until I became an entrepreneur myself.

In a new country, with no local experience and no contacts, I began consulting until I could get a secure job. What was simply a bridge to the next “sure thing” turned into a never-ending road with an unknown destination.

In 13 years, I’ve gone down the bumpy road of entrepreneurship traveled by many before me, and learned a few good lessons along the way. I hope these lessons make your road to adventure a whole lot smoother:

1. Embrace That You’ll Never Know Everything

It took you years to be THE expert in your field. You struggled to finally make THE product that everyone’s talking about. However, if, after all those years of hard work, you think you know it all and stop learning, or stop innovating on product development, your business will either fail or eventually get left behind.

Curiosity and perseverance are some of the most important traits for an entrepreneur to embrace – why do things work and how can it be better? What would happen if I did the opposite of what is the logical thing to do? Who knows more than I do and whom did they learn from? Do I really know what my customer wants?

Assume there is more than one “right” answer and ask the difficult questions no one is asking. You might be surprised at the answers you’ll get.

2. Work Hard And Give Yourself The Gift of Time

One of the most frustrating traits of an entrepreneur is our impatience. We spend weeks, months, even years creating something we love and when it’s ready, we’re caught by surprise at how slow it sells: How come my potential client can’t see how brilliant our product or solution is and how perfect it is for them? How can they not want it right NOW?

In a market with ever-increasing noise, it really does take time for you to stand out and build a momentum with your marketing.  “Overnight successes” can often take 18 – 24 months or more. If you truly believe in your offering, keep working hard but give yourself the gift of time and know that you may need to take the marathon approach versus trying to sprint to success. Remember that childhood story? The turtle eventually beats the hare!

3. Be Willing To Succeed As A Result of Your Work

You should definitely be willing to fail as an entrepreneur, but sometimes what can hold us back is the willingness to succeed.  It seems counter-intuitive but many of us have a fear of success in some way.  We may believe: I’ve worked so hard but don’t deserve the good things and recognition that come my way. What if I can’t sustain my success? What if I take on something way over my capabilities?

Remember that many of your fears will be irrational if you look at them closely. Success is your reward for setting your sights on a seemingly impossible goal, pursuing it doggedly and sometimes making incredible sacrifices to get there.  YES, you are worth it, and yes, you deserve all the recognition and success that comes your way.

4. Keep Working Towards The Next Step

Having your own business can provide amazing freedom and flexibility in creating a lifestyle you want.  There are times though, where it takes great effort to get out of bed and hang onto your determination to keep going. You may be stuck on what you need to do next in order to reach your goal.

During these times, I remember an analogy a business coach shared with me: When trying to reach a mountain’s summit (your goal) you know the general direction is up. Even in the worst weather, when you cannot see the summit and don’t know how you are going to get there, you can at least see the next step.

In building your business, just keep taking the next step, work hard, and trust that you know what you need to succeed. You may go down the wrong path here and there, but you won’t know until you take that step…and sometimes the step you need to take may be asking for help from a guide who’s been to the summit and back!

 

Disclosure: I received compensation from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. This post was sponsored by Visa Small Business as part of their #gobiz Sweepstakes for @VisaSmallBusiness. Visa will be rewarding small business owners with $10,000 in prizes for their hard work from October 25^th through November 17^th. Visit here http://hosting.thetenthwave.com/visasb/ for more details, and follow @VisaSmallBiz for ways to help make your small business more efficient and successful. Discover more at http://visa.com/business.

 

Photo Credit: The Femme Files

The 3 Keys to Business Flexibility

Today we have a guest post by Matthew Toren, co-author of Small Business, BIG Vision.

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In a world where technology, social trends, and economies change continually, rapidly, and without warning, one of the most important things an entrepreneur can do to remain competitive is create an atmosphere of flexibility within his or her business. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that your company’s survival may very well depend on your ability to be flexible.

What is flexibility, and why is it so important?

I define flexibility in business as the ability for a company to make whatever internal changes are necessary to respond effectively to the changing outward environment, as quickly as possible. In other words, you’re ready for whatever happens in the market, and you’re able to turn it into opportunity by adjusting to the new paradigm almost immediately.

The reason flexibility is so vital to small businesses is because of what I stated in the first paragraph. The world is changing; it’s changing rapidly; and it isn’t going to stop changing – ever. Technology advancements and other market trends are accelerating at an exponential pace, and they won’t wait around for companies to adjust. As my brother Adam and I talk about in our new book, Small Business, BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right, for those companies that don’t embrace flexibility, changes in the business environment can mean significant setbacks. For those who actually resist change, they can spell disaster.

What does it take to create a flexible company?

When it comes right down to it, flexibility within a company is an attitude – a culture. In our book, we discuss a couple of phrases that we never like to hear: “Because that’s how we’ve always done it,” and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” What those common phrases are really saying is that we’re not only resistant to change, we don’t even want to explore the possibility that there might be a better way.

To get away from that limiting attitude and create a culture of flexibility within your company, follow these three keys for success:

1. Listen.

Listen to your employees, partners, vendors, and customers. Never be afraid of feedback of any kind, and welcome suggestions and ideas. A flexible company culture depends on everyone associated with the company feeling comfortable sharing ideas for innovations, process improvements, and correcting shortcomings. Not only will your company be more ready for any unexpected change that comes along, you’ll become stronger and more cohesive in the meantime.

2. Really listen.

Take it one step further. In addition to being open to hearing ideas, go ask for them. Start a “Bright Idea” award system for employees. Convene customer focus groups on a regular basis, and include employees, customers, and even vendors in internal mastermind sessions. It’s one thing to say your door’s always open – it’s another to walk someone through it.

3. Open your mind.

If you follow the first two keys, you have ideas coming from all over. This is a very good thing, but only if you receive the ideas with an open, creative mind. I say creative because creativity is what allows you to see possibilities – to envision things other than the way they currently are. If you truly have an open mind, you approach ideas and obstacle the same way: Instead of “It can’t be done,” you say, “What do we need to do to make this happen?” With that frame of mind, you welcome change as an opportunity to improve and grow. And that is what flexibility is all about.

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About the author: Matthew Toren is a Serial Entrepreneur (Co-founded YoungEntrepreneur.com), Mentor, Investor and award winning Co-Author of Kidpreneurs (Basic Principles of Entrepreneurship for Kids). Follow him on Twitter. Matthew is also co-author of the newly released book Small Business BIG Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right.

Gymnast image by erin MC hammer

Review: The Billings Touch App

Have you ever had problems keeping track of multiple project hours or forgotten to record a client expense between meetings? Billings Touch is a neat iPhone application for tracking time and invoicing clients-right from your iPhone.

I find that it’s also useful for anyone looking to make the most of time blocking.

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Why @amyleefloats of @HuffingtonPost is #FollowFriday Worthy

Out-of-the-Box Blogger of Technology Ins and Outs

Our #FollowFriday-worthy recommendation this week is Amy Lee who blogs for The Huffington Post. Her one-line bio at the publication says, “Amy Lee writes for the Huffington Post about tech, and other things.” Yes, she does write about tech and other things — MANY other things!

Since December of 2010, Amy has been writing about technology from many angles. She blogs about new products that are noteworthy and occasionally shares technology user studies.

One thing I love about Amy is that she blogs about the how’s and why’s of technology companies and their actions in the market and towards their own products and unique technologies. It’s an enlightening perspective, which allows you to think deeper into the way business is handled in the technology and electronic world.

Amy also keeps tabs on the industry executives’ shifts and moves. She often writes about their new posts and explains their new take on companies they have joined or moved from.

Earlier this year the Huffington Post’s Tech Section also began a segment called “Socialized,” which features new social startups, from apps to services to websites – every day.  Here Amy contributes almost on a daily basis where she discusses the app or product in the easiest format to digest, with headings like “What it is,” “How it works,” “Why you’d use it,” and “How to get it.” It’s always fun to wait and see what will be her next feature.

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A Blueprint for Success

In this guest post, Cameron Herold teaches us an easy, practical — yet effective — exercise for building the business we dream of. Cameron is a coach to CEOs in large corporations all around the world. After helping build multi-million dollar companies, Cameron is now a sought-after speaker, coach, and mentor.

Years after working with an Olympic coach, I realized that the process of visualization was a lot like building a dream home.  If you can visualize what the dream house–or your designer kitchen–looks like, then you can talk to an architect and explain the vision you have in your mind.  You can even tear photos out of magazines to help explain what you see in your mind.  Once the architect can ‘see’ the same vision as you, he or she can create the blueprints for your dream home.

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The Entrepreneur’s Transition Curve: 5 Stages

Today’s guest post is by Cameron Herold, who’s been coaching, speaking to, and helping entrepreneurs all over the world to build their companies. While COO at 1-800-GOT-JUNK, he helped build the company from revenues of $2M to $150M in just six years and built a PR team that landed the company over 5,000 media hits. Cameron blogs at BackPocketCOO.com.

Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and every entrepreneur I’ve ever met has ridden the roller coaster of running a business.

The key to riding it out is that you’ve really got two choices: You can hold on and scream, or you can wave your hands in the air and have fun. Either way, you’re going to ride it.

I didn’t come up with the idea of the Transition Curve but what I figured out what entrepreneurs should or shouldn’t do when they are at each stage.  It’s one thing to identify the feelings at each stage, and another thing entirely to know what to do when you’re on the ride itself.

WARNING: DO NOT THINK THESE WON’T HAPPEN TO YOU. IF YOU’RE HUMAN THEY WILL!!

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Let’s Get 2011 Off To A GREAT Start!

As I mentioned recently, I feel in my bones that big things are coming in 2011.

That’s as far as my own business is concerned. However, I’d also love to make it true for your business as well.

That’s why I’ve joined a unique program created especially for women entrepreneurs who want to start 2011 with a big bang — and big profits.

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5 Things on My Christmas Wishlist

With an 8 year old and a 3 year old, all I hear around Christmas time is their wishlist for what Santa is going to give them.  So I thought I would join in the fun and create my own Christmas wish list for my business (and me).  I hope Santa is listening.

• A New Identity – Okay, not for me, but my logo and website for my 12 year old PR agency is…12 years old.  I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve been too busy trying to get client work done that I haven’t been walking my own talk in terms of branding.  Happily, I’ve found a great logo designer and I’m expecting my new logo sometime in February.
  Cost:  $600 for logo, still looking for an awesome wordpress designer/theme to wrap around it that won’t cost an arm and a leg (know anyone?)

• A New Phone – I have a first generation iPhone that I’ve dropped so many times I cannot hear it ring. But that’s partly why I love it so much. However my husband, sister and best friend now have the iPhone 4 and the only reason I want one is so I can do Face Time video with them. I also love the built-in camera that takes better pictures than… my camera.
  Cost:  $500 – 750 depending on the model

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