When you work for yourself you wear many hats.
Working for yourself doesn't mean you work alone.No one strikes out on their own just to give themselves another job.
This is Solo(ish), a resource for solopreneurs, focused on the art and business of being self-employed.
Recharge Your Entrepreneurial Spirit: The Importance of Downtime for Solopreneurs
Downtime for solopreneurs and small business owners is essential for boosting productivity, creativity, and work-life balance. Learn why taking breaks, whether through vacations or sabbaticals, is key to preventing burnout and ensuring long-term business success.
3 AI tools I use that aren’t ChatGPT
Cuts through the AI hype, with practical insights for service-based SMEs. From automating customer relationship management to refining your professional writing and optimizing your calendar, these AI tools streamline your tasks and enhance productivity.
Social Media: A Marketing Tactic or Strategy?
While social media platforms provide tactical tools, they are just a part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. By expanding your tactics arsenal beyond social media, such as leveraging email newsletters, advertising, and engaging in speaking opportunities, you can connect with a broader audience. However, the key lies in adopting a strategic approach.
To DON’T List for Startup Brands: Avoiding Pitfalls of Building a Strong Brand
Launching a startup brand can be an exhilarating and challenging endeavor. As you embark on this journey, navigating the path carefully and avoiding common pitfalls hindering your brand's success is crucial. By keeping these branding "don'ts" top of mind, you can...
5 Tips for Building a Strong Brand for Your Small Business
Branding is a critical aspect of any business, as it helps differentiate you from your competitors and communicates your unique value proposition to customers. While some of the biggest brands in the world, such as Nike, Harley Davidson, and Starbucks, have massive marketing budgets, effective branding is possible for businesses of all sizes. Here are five tips for building a strong brand that resonates with your clients.
7 Tips For A Mid-Year Brand And Marketing Checkup
As we approach the halfway point of the year, now is the perfect time to take a step back and evaluate the effectiveness of your brand and marketing strategy. It’s a good idea to do a mid-year checkup to ensure you’re on track to meet your goals and make any necessary adjustments before it’s too late.
What are CEU’s And How Do I Get Them?
BNI is notorious for acronyms, and one of my favorites is the CEU, or “continuing education unit.” What exactly is it? When you joined, you might remember some discussion about how BNI is big on education and helping you improve your business, and giving you the...
Never Forget to Follow-up Ever Again.
A timely follow-up can mean the difference between closing a sale and hearing that they hired someone else before you got around to it. Use this hack to never forget to follow-up ever again.
You Invited a Visitor to Your BNI Meeting, Now What?
As you know, visitors are the lifeblood of BNI. Natural attrition means 20% of members leave due to factors outside of the chapter's control. Visitors provide the possibility of new members to maintain and grow the chapter. On average, visitors spend $1,000 on...
The ABC (and D) of Who to Invite to a Networking Meeting
A steady stream of visitors is necessary to keep a chapter healthy and growing. But we don't need to invite visitors just for chapter growth. Whether they join or not, visitors contribute to your growing network of business partners, potential referrers, and even new...
Invite F.R.O.G.S – An Easy Way to Think About People to Invite to a BNI Meeting
When we look at the overall levels of member engagement in terms of attendance, one to ones, referrals, and visitors, generally, the weakest area is inviting visitors. The irony of this is that we were all visitors to a BNI meeting at some point. So, we know that...
Be Specific: 5-Point Checklist For Networking Commercials
During business networking meetings, such as BNI or Chambers of Commerce, you will have one minute or less (usually less) to do your weekly presentation (in BNI) or a round of introductions (Chambers and other networking events). This “commercial” is your chance to...
Present Like a Pro
Are you stressed out about your upcoming featured presentation? Are you worried about whether you're going to get your message across? Concerned if anyone will remember anything you said? Some people think that a featured presentation is merely to give a talk in front...
3+3+3=9 Minutes
Here are some secrets for planning and preparing for your 10-minute featured presentation. You'll learn about the 3+3+3=9-minutes rule. Please listen to this very carefully: what you put into your featured presentation is what you'll get out of it. Don't use your time...
Specific is Terrific
Business professionals who want to do business by referral are often far too general in their requests of other people. In referral marketing, it’s crucial to teach others how to refer you. This is why you need to be specific to be terrific. Why? Because sometimes,...
GAINS profile
So often, BNI members are frustrated about not getting more business referred to them. After all, isn’t that what business networking is all about? The fact is, it’s not enough that you’re great at what you do and can offer a lot of value to new clients. To win...
Brand Marketing Is Like Planting Trees
Think about marketing as planting trees. The trees of brand marketing you plant today will guarantee business growth tomorrow. What you are communicating today is to help potential customers make the buy decision in the future when they need what you are offering.
How To Use Social Networks to…Network
If you’re like me, you have changed your approach to networking over the last seven months. As we have learned in our chapter, we can all find new clients by watching out for each other on Facebook. But Social networks are multifaceted tools being used to create awareness, promote, and build relationships!