Business.com |
- How to Build an Email Marketing Contact List
- How to Turn Your Small Business into a Successful Franchise
- 6 Ways Job Seekers Impress Employers
- The Traits That Lead to Entrepreneurial Success
- The Worst Job I Ever Had
- Salesforce Unveils Social Media Integration for SMBs
- How to Create a New Brand Image From Scratch
| How to Build an Email Marketing Contact List Posted: 24 Jul 2019 09:20 AM PDT  Having a targeted, email marketing contact list can play an integral part in your business's marketing strategy. There are several tactics you can use to create a successful email list in order to effectively connect with consumers. The process of generating a successful email marketing list is twofold: First, you must get consumers to want to receive your emails, and, second, you have to keep them engaged so they want to keep getting them. A study conducted by Mailchimp showed that the average email open rate in 2018 was less than 21%, and click-through rates were even lower. With such low rates, it is essential that your business has a good pool of prospects to make your email campaigns worthwhile. How you obtain consumer email addresses, and what you do once you have them, is imperative. There are right and wrong ways to set up a marketing email list. First and foremost, you should only send emails to consumers who have volunteered to receive communications from your business. Sending marketing emails without consent can be detrimental to your business, as it will likely result in unhappy consumers and potentially cause your emails to be filtered as spam. So how do you get subscribers? And what can you do to make sure they never click that Unsubscribe button? Here are 10 tips for building an email marketing contact list to grow your business. Editor's note: Need to revamp your digital marketing strategy? Fill out the below questionnaire to be connected with vendors that can help. 1. Have multiple locations where consumers can sign up for your emails.One of the best ways to create an email list from scratch is by offering customers multiple calls to action (CTAs) to sign up for your promotions. Placing an opportunity in an immediately visible place is wise, but you should also cover your bases and place additional CTAs in alternative paths a customer might take to arrive at your webpage. These also serve as a reminder to those website visitors who skipped the first CTA. Don't overdo it, though. Keep your CTAs to just two to four spots on your website, such as these locations:
No matter where you put your email capture, use a double opt-in process. A double opt-in sign-up means your email service provider will send a confirmation email to new subscribers to ensure they want to be on your list. This strategy ensures that customers know you are using permission-based email marketing, and it prevents bots from adding random email addresses to your list. [Need help with email marketing? Check out our best picks for email marketing software.] 2. Offer an incentive to email subscribers.You'll collect email addresses more quickly if you give customers a reason to sign up. The Radicati Group Email Statistics Report estimates that the number of emails sent per day will exceed 293 billion in 2019, and that number is expected to increase to 347 billion by the end of 2023. Why should a customer read your promotional email when there are dozens of others to sift through in their inbox? Answering that question is key to a successful email marketing campaign with a healthy contact list and open rate. If you want customers to invite you into their inboxes, you need to offer an incentive that prompts them to share their email addresses. The most effective incentive will depend on your type of business. Examples include:
These incentives don't have to cost you much money, but they do need to offer real value to email subscribers if you want to generate email sign-ups. 3. Use landing pages for email sign-up.Customers are more likely to sign up for your list when they aren't distracted by other possible actions. This makes landing pages a valuable tool for capturing email addresses. A landing page is a webpage with a single goal or CTA. In the case of building your email list, a landing page is designed to persuade website visitors to sign up. You can use landing pages anytime someone is directed toward your website from an external source, such as a mention in the media or your bio that appears on another website. You can also create them for ad campaigns or social media click-throughs. When customers click a link to learn more about your business, they are taken directly to a landing page that encourages them to sign up for your list, usually by offering an incentive relevant to the original ad or website that directed them there. If you create different landing pages for different sources, you can customize them to generate more interest. Customers who click on an ad for a product, for example, can be taken to a different landing page than those who found you mentioned in a media feature. Custom landing pages allow you to take advantage of segmenting, a strategy that divides up your email list based on customers' characteristics and interests. By addressing customers' specific interests and needs, segmented email campaigns can generate higher click-through rates than emails sent to a bulk list. Since Campaign Monitor's survey reported that 21% of marketers didn't use segmentation in 2018, implementing segmentation in your email campaign can give you a leg up on the competition. 4. Leverage your social media outlets.Social media is extremely important to advertising these days. The PwC Global Consumer Insights Survey found that 37% of consumers find purchase inspiration through their social media channels. Chances are you have already started growing your social media presence for your business. But have you thought about using social media outlets to get more email sign-ups? Including email sign-up locations on social media and blog posts increases your chance of capturing promising leads. In social settings, you can ask for email addresses multiple times in multiple places, as not every customer will see each sign-up form. This expands your reach to a larger net of potential customers. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter allow you to communicate with your consumers in a casual, entertaining way. When posting on these outlets, share your free incentives in return for your consumers' email addresses. Since 58% of consumers prefer visual-first content, couple your incentives with photos or video for further engagement. 5. Create an autoresponder sequence.When someone signs up for your email, they are already interested in your business. They have offered you a way to contact them because they are excited about some aspect of your business, products or services. It's important not to waste that opportunity to make initial contact. This is the point when it makes the most sense to persuade them to use the incentive you offered, visit your store, make a purchase or otherwise interact with your business. However, many businesses collect customer emails, then fail to do anything with them for weeks. To capitalize on customers' excitement, use your email service provider to set up a series of messages that will automatically be sent to new email subscribers. This series is usually called an autoresponder sequence, welcome sequence or email sales funnel. It is generally a series consisting of three to seven emails, spaced out over several days or weeks. The goal of an autoresponder sequence is to guide new subscribers back to your site, encourage them to connect with you on social media or share more about why they should trust your business. An email sequence that is automatically triggered by email sign-ups can increase your click-through rates and nurture an ongoing relationship with new subscribers. You can also use welcome emails to guide customers into an introductory purchase. These offers, known as tripwires, are very low in price, often less than $10 or only the cost of shipping. Their value is in creating a relationship. Many consumers prefer to buy new products from a brand they already know or have purchased from. If customers make a tripwire purchase at the end of a welcome sequence, they are more likely to make a larger purchase in the future. 6. Create group emails.Similar to an autoresponder sequence, you can create group emails to target specific sectors of your audience. This is a simple way to send out your content at a large scale and communicate with multiple groups of people at once. Each group email should have a specific purpose, and the individuals in that group should be segmented audiences who enjoy receiving the type of content you are sending them. Sending targeted emails based on interest and funnel positioning can increase your click-through rate, as opposed to sending the same content to your entire list of email subscribers. Many email marketing platforms provide an option for users to easily create group emails within their systems. Although the process varies by program, there is often a list of directions to guide users through the process. It typically involves selecting the members for each group and adding a tag for each email type. 7. Limit sign-up detail requirements.Popups and subscription landing pages should result in a quick sign-up process for the consumer. When requesting a consumer's contact information in a sign-up form, it is essential to keep your subscription questions to a minimum. When you ask for too many details, you risk scaring away potential subscribers. Since prospects are already taking the time to subscribe, streamline the process for them. You can reduce the time it takes to subscribe by only asking for a name and email address, or just an email address. The more questions you ask, the higher your bounce rate will likely be. However, it's worth noting that users who take the time to complete longer forms are typically more serious about your product. You will receive more leads when you only ask for a name than when you ask for a name, email and phone number. However, if you have already created an extensive contact list and are looking to grow it by serious leads only, consider adding more fields. 8. Email subscribers regularly but not frequently.Building your email list doesn't just mean getting customers to sign up. You also have to keep them on the list, which means reducing the likelihood that customers will unsubscribe. Your autoresponder sequence is your first opportunity to create positive expectations around your email marketing. If you want to reduce the number of customers who unsubscribe to your mailing list, create an autoresponder sequence that offers real value and leaves customers looking forward to seeing your email in their inbox. The frequency of email marketing is also key to building your email list. Many customers unsubscribe from a business's emails because they are too frequent. However, if customers don't see an email from you for months at a time, they may forget who you are and unsubscribe. To maintain your list, email subscribers regularly enough to keep them interested, but not so frequently that they feel spammed. This will depend on your business and your customers, and you may have to run several test campaigns to determine whether customers respond best to an email every week, every other week, every month or only when you're having a sale. Running test campaigns may be extra work, but it is worth it. Email is one of the most valuable forms of content marketing you can use. In 2018, email marketing earned $38 for every $1 spent. Taking the time to build and maintain your list will pay off when you have the opportunity to market directly to your customers, with no middleman. 9. Avoid buying email lists and sending spam.When building an email list, there are a few approaches you should avoid. First and foremost, don't send spam messages. With anti-spam laws in place, provide your audience only with useful content. Be very clear in what you are offering, and avoid the temptation to sell something in every email. By sending entertaining and educational emails, you provide value to your audience, resulting in an easier "ask" when you send sales emails. Additionally, sending bulk marketing emails via your own email service, like Google, Outlook or Yahoo, can also cause your emails to be filtered as spam, even if they're not. To avoid this, use a third-party email client like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, SendGrid or Litmus. Another strategy that typically doesn't work is buying contacts. While you can spend $100 CPM (cost per thousand) to start, buying contacts can cost you much more in the long run, like your reputation. Avoid buying a database of email addresses, as these addresses are typically not targeted traffic leads. Sending emails to a bulk contact list of the wrong target audience will land you in the trash folder, and you may be reported as spam. 10. Closely manage your email contact list.List building is an ongoing practice. Don't ignore your list once you collect email addresses. By closely managing your address list and pruning it for bounced emails, you can ensure your conversion rate remains high and your unsubscribe rate remains low. People's interests and needs are everchanging, and your email list should accurately reflect that. If your unsubscribe rate increases, analyze who is leaving and why. Have their needs or interests changed? Assess whether you can regain their business by accurately retargeting them, and analyze similar contacts to ensure you are still giving them a reason to stay. As your marketing techniques evolve, so, too, will your email marketing contact list. Make an effort to consistently analyze your list. Use what you learn to enhance your email marketing campaign and build a positive online reputation. Additional reporting by Adam C. Uzialko and Chad Brooks. |
| How to Turn Your Small Business into a Successful Franchise Posted: 24 Jul 2019 07:00 AM PDT  Franchising your small business essentially means you can expand your business using "other people's money." But while that may be true, there are still other costs involved and a lot of work to put in before the pay-off is made. To succeed as a franchise, you must:
You may love being your own boss and running your own business, but turning that business into a franchise can be a very different experience. Make sure that you have evaluated whether franchising is right for you before you start taking your small business to the next level. Here is more on what needs to be done in order to franchise your business. 1. Consider your business concept and modelYour first port of call is to consider your business concept/model and whether it's viable to turn into a franchise. You may be offering the same old service as anyone else, but do you have a unique twist on it? If not, what would compel a franchisee to buy your franchise over starting their own business with the same services? Examine whether you have a unique selling point (USP), an established brand name, or demonstrated success with organized plans or refined techniques. These are all elements that will encourage a franchisee to franchise your business over starting from scratch. You want your concept to appeal to both consumers and franchisees, and not be dependent on your own personalization to thrive. In other words, your concept needs to be replicated by everyone. The fast-casual Mexican food franchise, Mad Mex, is an example of a franchise with a USP that takes advantage of the "healthy food trend" and offers consumers a non-greasy Mexican food option that was missing from the market. With an already successful menu, pre-considered portions, Mad Mex allows franchisees to open a food store without having to experiment with their own concept and menus. 2. Get as much advice as possibleYou may be a seasoned business person, but if this is your first time franchising you'll need to put up your hand and ask for help. This is the part of franchising your small business that does require some capital, but that's an investment that will ensure you get the most out of your franchise. It's essential that you seek advice from someone who knows what they're doing and can iron out issues before they scale and become big problems. That's why it is always a good idea to first speak to a lawyer or franchise consultant and make sure you think carefully and plan for things like:
Whatever you do, don't skip over this step because you're too eager to get started. The decisions or numbers may seem small in the planning stage, but they will add up with the more franchises you sell. 3. Prepare your small business for a changeYou must understand that your role in your business may change when you become a franchisor. Scratch that, it will change. You will no longer be responsible solely for running your business, but also for supporting franchisees and selling franchises. You'll have to give up some of the control you previously had with your business and delegate your tasks to someone else. Ask yourself whether you're happy to relinquish some of that control and take a step back from your business operations for a while? If you're so intertwined with your business concept that you can't bear the thought of someone else taking over, then perhaps franchising isn't right for you. 4. Pick your franchisees wiselyA big mistake many franchisers make is that they want to see their business grow as fast as possible, and so they sell franchises to just about anyone. For your franchise to succeed, it's absolutely vital that you choose the right franchisees. Often, you'll find that the perfect franchisees are already working for your business. When choosing a franchisee for your business, capital isn't always as important as finding the right person who believes in your business model. You'll be engaging with your franchisees for the entirety of your working relationship, and it's vital that you choose self-motivated people that are:
As your small business grows, keep an eye out for staff members who have goals and values that align with your business model and have shown loyalty in the past. These will be the best franchisees when it's time to take your business to the next level. 5. Provide the right support to small businessesThe work doesn't stop once you've sold your franchise. If you want it to succeed, then you need to provide a lot of guidance, support, and training to your franchisees. Even if you have chosen an employee to take on your franchise, don't assume that they know everything and don't need your help. It's in your best interest that your franchises thrive, and so you have to be there while your franchisees are setting up their business and for the first few months of operation. Fitstop is an interesting example of a franchise that handpicks franchisees from "their own employees." In this case, personal trainers offer training and support to help franchisees thrive in a business environment. In this way, business growth is "structured internally" through gym loyalists and brand ambassadors. Making a franchise out of your small business is an extremely rewarding move, and if you've taken the time and care to complete the steps above, your small business could one day become a household name. Which small business owner doesn't dream of that? As with any business decisions, don't rush into franchising your business, make sure that your motives come from a good place and the rest will happen naturally. |
| 6 Ways Job Seekers Impress Employers Posted: 24 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Here are six specific details that employers weigh before deciding whether to offer you the job or not, that you may not have thought about. 1. Were you upfront and consistent with your interview answers?I've worked with hundreds of job seekers as a recruiter and seen how much pressure people put on themselves to give "correct" interview answers. Sometimes this internal pressure even leads to lying. However, a lot of the time, the interviewer doesn't even have one specific answer they want to hear. With a lot of questions, they're just looking to get a sense of your thought process, how honest and upfront you are, how your personality will fit with the current group, etc. So yes, you need to give good interview question answers that demonstrate you'll be able to succeed in their job. However, don't lose sight of the fact that employers are also discussing whether you stayed consistent with your answers. For example, if HR asks you why you're job searching right now, and then the hiring manager asks you the same thing later, they're going to discuss it. The different people you met with love to compare notes after you've left to make sure you stayed consistent. And each individual interviewer is going to judge whether you seem upfront and open, or whether you're hiding something. No employer wants to hire someone they can't trust or don't feel comfortable with, so try to seem as upfront as possible. 2. How were your appearance and body language?Most of the job seekers I've worked with put a lot of thought into what they're saying to employers, but not nearly as much on how they look and what body language signals they're giving off. The fact is, your interviewer is going to be gathering a first impression of you almost instantly upon meeting you. Even before you've had time to discuss anything verbally. And that first impression can impact how they remember the whole conversation after that point. So practice having an upright, confident posture while sitting and standing. Practice your handshake with a friend to make sure it's firm but not too strong. And take the time to pick out a good interview outfit that's clean, wrinkle-free and professional. This can set the tone for your entire interaction with the interviewer. It's very difficult to recover from a bad first impression, and your posture, body language and clothing play a big part in that. 3. How did you treat each person in the company?Your character and integrity matter a lot to an employer. Make sure you treat each person you meet with kindly. This starts with the receptionist. You never know how much influence someone has in the company. In one of the recruiting agencies I worked for, the receptionist had been with the company for decades and was one of the most important, respected and influential people. I was a bit early to my interview, and the hiring manager was late, so I had the chance to interact with her for 15 minutes in the waiting room, and I'm certain that how I conducted myself in the waiting room played a role in their hiring decision. Assume the hiring manager is going to talk to every person you meet in a company to get their opinion on you; and assume that one or two doubtful people can cost you the job offer even if the hiring manager likes you a lot – because it can. 4. Did you send good "thank you" emails to show appreciation for their time?Many job seekers assume their work is done once the interview is over. However, there's a big opportunity to set yourself apart and remind the employer how excited you are about their job. You can do this by sending "thank you" emails to each person you met with. Your email should include:
I'd recommend sending this email 12 to 24 hours after your interview. Also, get business cards from each person you interviewed with before you leave. That will make the process of following up easier. While this isn't going to save you from a bad interview, it can be a difference-maker when an employer likes you and somebody else and isn't sure who to hire. (And that happens quite often because employers typically interview many people for each job opening). 5. Did you seem excited about their job?Employers always want to hire somebody who seems excited to do the day-to-day work in the job. This is one of the reasons I mentioned sending "thank you" emails that reaffirm your interest in the position. Your interest and excitement in the job is entirely different than your ability to the work, but is an equally important factor to most employers. Here's why: Even if you're highly-qualified, if you aren't excited about the job, employers are going to be afraid you'll get bored, give low effort, or leave for a different opportunity within the first year – which costs employers a lot of money. Employers often invest dollars into training and hiring someone when you factor in the hiring manager's time, HR's time, etc., and so one of their biggest fears is hiring someone who's going to leave within the first year. So to get more job offers, make sure you're ready to explain why their job interests you, what your long-term career goals are, and how this job fits into your goals. 6. Did you build rapport with the hiring manager?When you sit down to interview with the hiring manager, they're not just assessing your skills and experience. They're going to be working with you every day if they hire you, and they want to get to know you as a person, too. They want to make sure they like you and feel comfortable with you. They want to make sure you communicate well and seem honest and upfront. So don't think of the hiring manager as some authority figure or someone who is interrogating you in the interview room. This is your future colleague, and someone you should try to get to know and build real rapport with. When you sit down in their office, scan the room for anything you can turn into a talking point when the conversation shifts to small-talk. For example, photos of their family, any awards they have on their desk, etc. If they ask you something personal about yourself, like whether you played a sport when you were younger, ask them in return. And ask them great questions about the job in general. Asking questions is one of the best ways to show an employer you're well-prepared and know what you want in your job search, which is exactly what most employers look for. Here are some ideas of questions you can ask them:
Little things like this can make you more memorable and more likely to get the job. The hiring manager isn't just going to think back on your qualifications and interview answers, they're going to think about whether they enjoyed the conversation, whether you sounded enthusiastic, and whether they can picture you being a part of their team. Neglecting these six areas can cost you job offers, even if you're more qualified than other candidates. However, if you focus on these six areas and make sure you're impressing employers in the subjects above, you'll set yourself apart from other job seekers and get more job offers for better-quality positions. |
| The Traits That Lead to Entrepreneurial Success Posted: 24 Jul 2019 05:25 AM PDT 
What does an early-stage investor look for in a company? E. Keller Fitzsimmons, serial entrepreneur and angel investor behind the book Lost in Startuplandia, evaluates the founder themselves with a question of her own: "Do they have the ability to ride out the roller-coaster ride of entrepreneurship?" It may be tempting to waste time nailing down the specifics of your elevator pitch, but such concerns are secondary in the long run. "It's not about the market, idea or team," Fitzsimmons said. "All of those things are subject to change." David Jackson, as CEO of FullStack Labs, has worked with dozens of entrepreneurs to help them launch their software, and he had a similar impression. "Innovative ideas would be at the very bottom of my list of required skills," he said. "Everyone has innovative ideas. Having ideas is easy." In that case, what cocktail of traits makes a successful entrepreneur? It's a question faced by both aspiring entrepreneurs and the investors sizing them up – and, as it turns out, academia. Managerial experience vs. industry knowledgeIdentifying the ideal leader involves a trade-off between managerial and industry-specific skills. While a vocal minority of fast-growth startups are founded on an entrepreneur's ability and desire to lead, many new companies are founded by someone with unique industry knowledge who has identified room for improvement. It's hard to find someone with both attributes. A 2014 research paper in the Strategic Management Journal found that the importance of a founder's knowledge depends on the entrepreneurial opportunity. Thus, in high-risk ventures, managerial experience takes priority. This may be because high risk can also lead to fast growth – in which case a good orchestrator is imperative, whereas industry experts can always be brought on. "Management skills are more important as the business grows," said John Holloway, co-founder of NoExam.com, a digital life insurance brokerage. "As the business changes, so will the demands placed on them, and being able to adapt to change is important to keep growing." The study also found the converse to be true: For founders of low-risk ventures, industry experience is a better indicator than managerial experience. In a low-risk but saturated market, those who have done time in the industry have a competitive advantage. The good news is that, while there may be a correlation between managerial experience and high-risk venture success, it's not a death sentence for inexperienced businesspeople with risky startup ideas. Another finding of the study was that in high-risk, high-return startups, "the riskier the opportunity, the greater the performance of the startup above and beyond founder characteristics." Apparently, some ingenious ideas can indeed make up for the shortcomings of their inventor. Social capital and networking abilityA cynical view may be that it's not about who the entrepreneur is, but who they know. Were they born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Did a friend or relative provide business advice, or finance their startup? Alas, a study of 452 nascent firms found such "social capital" relationships were indeed predictors of entrepreneurship. However, while those with connections were more likely to create their own startup, only one of these factors had any positive correlation with selling or turning a profit – membership in a business network. Good entrepreneurs are tenacious networkers. Benjamin Walker, founder and CEO of Transcription Outsourcing and member of a few business networks himself, can vouch for the data. "[Entrepreneurs] network like crazy … they go to conferences, retreats, breakfasts, happy hours, and any other get-together and make true connections," he said. "Most don't ever lead to anything. The few that do, though, will be earth-shattering once they start to bear fruit." Of course, this provides something new to be cynical about – the buzzword-y nature of "networking." It's a phrase that sooner conjures men in suits chatting over free champagne than any sort of substantial interaction. Call it what you will, but being able to say "I know a guy" clearly pays off. Jacks-of-all-tradesMost entrepreneurs have to wear a lot of hats for a long time before they can afford to hire and delegate. This creates a dilemma – is it better to be a specialist in one area, or a jack-of-all-trades but master of none? While there is little academic research to support any one skill being essential to entrepreneurship, there is evidence for entrepreneurs as dabblers. In a Journal of Labor Economics research paper examining the careers of a class of Stanford MBA grads, those who studied varied subjects and went on to have varied careers were more likely to eventually start their own businesses. "Although not necessarily superb at anything, entrepreneurs have to be sufficiently skilled in a variety of areas to put together the many ingredients required to create a successful business," the study concludes. So, while the prescriptive advice for aspiring entrepreneurs may be to invest in a diversity of skills, for investors, it's to not be floored by pitches from the experts, no matter how impressive. PerseveranceFinally, we did a bit of qualitative research of our own, asking entrepreneurs and investors about the tried-and-true traits. The overwhelming response was that entrepreneurs need a certain level of grit. "It's really, really hard to start and grow a business, and most people give up early in the process," Jackson said. "Starting a business means dealing with rejection, failure and disappointment on a daily basis." According to Jackson, this means less of the fun stuff, like designing the app no one uses yet, and more of the uncomfortable stuff, like cold-calling customers. Fitzsimmons agreed. "Resilience is the key, and it's rare." However, she clarified, "I am not interested in investing in a founder who is so dedicated to their startup that they risk being hospitalized for a lack of self-care." Instead, she said, it's about weathering failures and setbacks, staying in the game long enough for the market conditions to become favorable. That's not to say that you should never quit – better to abandon ship before you sink – but that quitters never win. |
| Posted: 24 Jul 2019 05:15 AM PDT  In honor of the idea that some people end up in their dream jobs out of sheer luck, we rounded up 13 "lucky" people who say they have their ultimate dream jobs. We asked them what they do for a living now, what their worst jobs ever were, and the advice they'd give their younger selves if they could. As it turns out, a lot of CEOs and business owners started out their careers doing things like scrubbing toilets, working in fast food restaurants, and even donning character costumes and dancing on the street. While the stories, paths to success and even definitions of dream jobs vary widely among our respondents, there are some common takeaways. When describing their worst jobs ever, for example, nearly every person we heard from also took the time to point out positive things they learned at those challenging jobs. Even when the jobs included abuse from bosses or gross tasks in unpleasant circumstances, our dream job-havers were sure to point out a silver lining. Most respondents also mentioned the importance of having a positive outlook, building resilience, staying focused on goals and, of course, being persistent. Here's how our lucky 13 dream job-havers found their success, and how they survived the worst jobs of their lives. Immigrant factory worker turned star attorneyCurrently serving as director and immigration group lead attorney at Fennemore Craig, Margo Chernysheva is the type of woman other people aspire to emulate. She has an impressive career and loves working her dream job, helping people and changing the world, but her path to the top of her field was far from easy. "When I first immigrated to the United States, I did a subcontracting job tying, closing and cutting strings left on just-made, new-sewed clothes for a factory," Chernysheva told us. "I would sit for hours at night after English school with all these large bags of clothes. I really needed this work, and I was paid $20 per large bag in which there were many pieces of clothes. ... By the time I was done with three bags, I could not feel my fingers or my back. But it paid for a week of food for our family, and so I had to do it." After leaving her job in the factory, Chernysheva went on to work 12-hour shifts, for minimum wage, as a dental assistant. After years of hard work, Chernysheva's dedication paid off. "I am living my American dream," she said. "I am an immigrant who came from nothing and did a lot in my life to achieve where I am in life. When I first came to this country, I was not sure if I would ever succeed, and so, on that airplane between D.C. and LA, I was the last person I wanted to be. Twenty years later, I was on the same flight, and I did not want to be anyone else but me on that airplane." A CEO who started at the bottom – literallyPaige Arnof-Fenn, the CEO and founder of marketing firm Mavens & Moguls, jokes that she "started at the bottom," and she did … marketing toilet paper. She says of her time in the TP business, "those are focus groups I would not recommend," but thanks to her sense of humor and drive, Arnof-Fenn was eventually able to build her own marketing firm and create the career of her dreams. She has lots of advice for people who are still finding their way, including being flexible and unafraid of failure and detours. "[Career] really is a marathon, not a sprint, so do not set arbitrary goals like being named '30 under 30' or '40 under 40,' because it may take you longer than Mark Zuckerberg to hit your stride and that's OK. Most people take many detours on their career path before finding their true calling. Don't be disappointed if you get to 40 and are still exploring, because the journey really is a great adventure, so enjoy it!" Arnof-Fenn is also a big believer in being a lifelong learner and redefining your vision of success as your life goals change. Pool cleaner to CEO and authorJoe De Sena is a bestselling author as well as the CEO and founder of Spartan, a company that hosts intense obstacle course races all over the world. Today, De Sena is living the dream. "Every single day, I wake up excited and motivated to work. This is a feeling I never had before launching Spartan. It is unbelievably rewarding when you wake up every day motivated to not only succeed, but [also] inspire other people to face challenges and succeed." De Sena's success, like many entrepreneurs', was hard-won. In fact, he used to spend his days cleaning other people's pools. "For over a decade, I spent every single day cleaning out swimming pools. I started it as a child, and even though it grew into a full-fledged business, you couldn't pay me to go back and clean out pools … especially because they were usually filled with black water and loaded with creatures." As for his advice to his younger, pool-skimming self, "I would tell myself to stop complaining. I'd look myself in the eyes and say, 'Do the work, do it well, and although you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel … it always comes.'" Conveyor belt counter to actuary and professorDr. Mark Farrell loves his job. "As an actuarial science university professor, I get to research and help solve interesting problems as well as working with and teaching some of the brightest minds." Long before he landed his position at Queen's University Belfast, Farrell toiled in a building products factory. "My main role was to stand at a conveyor belt and screw the tops onto various bottles as they made their way to me on the belt. All day long, eight hours a day, for six months, screwing bottle tops! I used to count the bottles and see how far I got to try and relieve the boredom. One day I got to 5,000, yet the day hadn't even finished!" Eventually Farrell decided bottle capping wasn't for him, but he learned a lot during his months in the factory. He says if he could go back in time and give his younger self advice, he'd say, "Don't let others manage your career. Generally, no one will care as much about your success as much as you do. It's all too easy to take a back seat and be reactive instead of proactive in terms of choices that will affect our careers in the long term ... We often don't realize just how much power we have in different situations and that, instead of accepting the status quo, we can take the career bull by the horns and drive our career in the direction that makes most sense for us." Sumo chicken boxing rings to executive coachingYou read that right – Toku McCree started out his working life in a very unusual way. "I once ran a sumo chicken boxing ring for various fairs in Nashville, Tennessee. My job was to convince people to dress up in chicken costumes in the hot sun, put on giant boxing gloves and go at it in an inflatable ring. The job itself was actually pretty cool, but my boss was unreliable, paid us late and didn't really train us on how to do the job. But it was great experience learning how to sell." McCree continued to collect eclectic work and life experiences, including living in a Zen monastery and touring with a Top 40 rock band. In fact, he held more than 30 jobs before his 30th birthday, but eventually he became his own boss and his old selling skills came in handy. Now, McCree runs Samurai Coaching Dojo, where he helps other entrepreneurs and coaches realize their dreams, and he loves it. His advice to his younger self is focused on patience and enjoying the journey: "You'll get there. It takes time, but you have to just keep the faith and keep trying things out. What you learn along the way will really help you when you find what you want to do." Dirty fast food to clean laundryBrie Young is a great example of someone who found her dream job in an unexpected place. For her, the perfect job is all about quality of life and everyday enjoyment, and she finds that in her job doing laundry for users of Laundry Source. "While [doing laundry] doesn't sound like the type of glamorous job most people probably talk about when they describe their dream job, it is amazing," Young said. "I love how flexible it is, how you get to make your own hours, helping people, and honestly just making things clean." She also loves the way her job helps her clients. "It is absolutely amazing to find a stain a client might not be able to get out themselves and to find a way to get it out for them – to see new mothers longing to spend every moment with their child while they are still little and be able to give them even just a few hours." Young didn't always like her job. Like many young people, she put in time as a fast-food worker, and she hated it. Everything from the gusts of freezing cold air through the drive-thru window to the crackling headsets was a daily challenge. "It was a rough time … I can't even imagine going back to where I was then." Things are easier now that she can set her own hours and do something she enjoys, and her advice to her past self is to be patient and persevere. "I'd tell myself to just keep working till [I] found the job that fit." From overworked accountant to independent bloggerLogan Allec owns and operates the personal finance blog Money Done Right, but before he became his own boss, he spent years as an overworked CPA. "Right out of college, I got a job as an entry-level tax accountant," he told us. "The hours were unbearably long – 50- and 60- hour weeks were the norm, and there were even a few 100-hour weeks in there during busy season. One time I worked 36 hours straight to get a job done!" Despite the unpleasant workload, like many of the successful people who reached out to us, Allec found a silver lining, which for him was clocking plenty of overtime and using that money to pay down college debts and start investing. That simple act of getting his finances in order ended up propelling him toward his eventual path as a personal finance blogger. His advice "to those who may feel they're stuck in a tough job situation is that just because you chose to pursue a certain career path when you were in college doesn't mean that that is what you have to do the rest of your life. For example, I'm a licensed CPA … I worked in the industry for nearly a decade. And even after all that effort to pursue my Plan A, I left that potentially lucrative career path to become a blogger, of all things … Life just might surprise you – but you have to be open to surprises." Company president who used to assemble boxesThe president of Medicare Portal, John Norce, looks every bit the part of the successful businessman he is. Even better, he loves what he does. "I enjoy being an entrepreneur and facing the daily challenge of building a business from the ground up. There is no aspect I do not enjoy, and there is no task or job I won't do." Like most people, though, Norce started in a much less glamorous position. "[The] worst job I ever had was putting together freight boxes at a freight-forwarding company on the campus of JFK Airport … I never complained, as it paid well and I needed the money to pay for college. I learned so many life lessons from this experience, and today I [use] this experience … to make sure I develop a healthy, productive and fun work culture." His advice to his younger self, and to others just starting out, is to try everything, whether you try it through volunteer opportunities, groups at work or community organizations. He also believes in reading, being a lifelong learner and never giving up. "To be successful in life, one must develop mental toughness to get through life's adversity and challenges. Adversity or bad jobs build character, and strong character is at the core of all successful people." From working in the kitchen to owning two law firmsRussell Knight, who today owns and operates two law firms, had a doozy of a worst-job story, but he still eventually made it to his dream job. "The worst job I ever had was in college at a fast-food Italian restaurant. I was literally the only college kid working in the kitchen. Everyone else was on work release from prison. That meant that they were nearing the end of their prison term, so they were released during the day to work and they would go back to a prison or halfway house at night. … They were all desperate for overtime … so the pace of work was incredibly fast and hard. It was 100-plus degrees in the kitchen, and we were always on our feet and always moving for eight-plus hours a day." While that experience might have crushed some people's spirits, Knight used it as motivation. He said he knew that doing back-breaking work in a high-stress environment, for very little pay, was probably as bad as it was going to get, so there was nowhere to go but up. Now he enjoys his life working in an air-conditioned office, operating two law firms, and helping his clients while making a great living. Toilet cleaner to CEODaniel Steinfeld, the CEO of On The Block Realty, credits his success largely to his positive outlook, which he kept intact even through some tough jobs, including one at a chicken wing joint where his main tasks were cleaning dishes and bathrooms, as well as putting up with his boss's unpleasant sense of humor. "It's not that the job toughened me up," he said. "I didn't feel like a victim ... but if it did anything, it showed me I could find the positive in even the seemingly worst of situations. I made friends with the kitchen staff, we made up songs to actually make the nasty work fun, and I used the somewhat demeaning banter from the boss to talk up the regulars." That ability to make the most out of any situation helped carry Steinfeld through many other jobs, from boring auditing positions to mundane client work, and now he tries to pass the lessons he's learned to his staff. "The 'make the most of it' and 'find the positive' mentality has served me well throughout my career. … Not every job is rainbows and sunshine on the surface, but it is always what you make it. " From loading trucks to climbing mountains – with an MIT degreeSteve Silberberg took a circuitous route to his dream job. He said his worst job ever was loading mattresses into trucks in the middle of a scorching summer, for a measly $3 an hour, in 1979. That job was short-lived, Silberberg said, and he eventually went on to higher education, even earning a master's degree from MIT. That wasn't the climax of his story, though: Silberberg didn't want to stick with his technical expertise, so he started his own business. "I love what I do now," he said. "I started a business that takes people on backpacking adventure vacations to get fit and lose fat. It's called Fitpacking. I spend all day in the wilderness climbing towering mountains, gazing upon bright stars at night and walking among wildlife during the day." That said, Silberberg would do things a little differently if he could. "If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to stay with tech jobs until I made my fortune." Cheesy villain to author and leaderFor six short months, Michael O'Brien was famous, in the worst way possible for a teenager. He played Mr. Munch, the villain who stole Chuck E. Cheese's pizza, at his local Chuck E. Cheese. Still, his time as a costumed character was informative. "I learned humility, because it wasn't the coolest job in the world – especially with the girls. I discovered the importance of having a villain to create drama in any good story, and I also learned that the belief that 'there's no bad pizza' is a myth." Nowadays, O'Brien is busy working in his dream job as chief shift officer at Peloton Coaching and Consulting, which he jokes is a "much more fulfilling job than playing Mr. Munch." He also wrote a successful memoir, Shift, about his close brush with death during a cycling accident, and his subsequent recovery and rediscovery of life, values, and the power of mindset. His advice to anyone struggling in their jobs is to take a moment and breathe. "We all spend too much time on the hamster wheel with our head down, grinding away. It's essential to look up and breathe to ensure that we are headed in the right direction, because if you don't know where you are going, you may not like where you end up." Bartender and gross-task accomplisher to creative entrepreneurThese days, Sally McAdam, director of Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes, can be found working from her Glasgow home, where she manages her three employees and dreams up stylish and unique accessories, clothing, and stationery for her successful business. However, at one time, you could have found McAdam pouring drinks at a local pub and intermittently doing unpleasant tasks like cleaning up vomit and mopping bathrooms. "In some ways it was excellent, as the hours were flexible, the people I worked with were a lot of fun, and I enjoyed serving drinks," she said of her toughest job. "However, if customers became drunk and aggressive, it was a pretty scary experience, as I was frequently in the bar on my own on weeknights." Plus, there was always the gross-out factor. "Once I found someone's underwear in the toilet and had to fish it out." If McAdam could go back in time and give her younger self advice, she'd say, "Value your own work and time." She says she'd also advise herself to be less afraid of turning down tasks and saying no. "I used to sell my products for far less than they were worth, sometimes even less than the cost to make them, and would frequently agree to projects and events that I knew would not be good use of my time, mostly because I didn't want to let people down. I've learned to put myself and my business higher up my list of priorities, and I am much better at saying no when I need to." |
| Salesforce Unveils Social Media Integration for SMBs Posted: 24 Jul 2019 05:01 AM PDT 
Social media platforms are increasingly used as places for small businesses to converse with their customers. It was with those conversations in mind that officials at SaaS giant Salesforce announced a bevy of social media-minded tools for its main small business suite. Since its launch in November 2017, the company has positioned Salesforce Essentials as its "all-in-one CRM solution," as it has apps that allow small businesses to integrate the other services they use with the system. With today's announcement, that single dashboard can now manage a business's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts and facilitate real-time conversations with customers on them. "We all expect real-time instantaneous communication today – whether it's with our family, friends or favorite brands," said Marie Rosecrans, senior vice president of SMB marketing for Salesforce Essentials. "Now Salesforce Essentials is giving small businesses the tools needed to manage customer communications across all those channels in one centralized spot." Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the CRM software that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our vendor partners contact you with free information. |
| How to Create a New Brand Image From Scratch Posted: 24 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Your brand image is everything about your business rolled into one package. We tend to see businesses the same way we see people, as complex beings with various pros and cons. It's your job as the brains behind the company to assemble all of the traits that the public will see when they visit your website, check out your social media pages, or read your emails. Positive branding results in increased customer trust, higher chances that people will sign up for your email list, and people telling their friends about their excellent experience with your company. Building a brand image is tough, but there are a few key points you should remember. Here are the key points to remember when creating a new brand image:
Here is more on each key point. Start gathering dataConducting market research and gathering data is one of the most important things business owners can do before they create their brand. There are various aspects you should consider at this phase. First, you have to think about your target audience. Your viewers are going to be the people interested in your content, buying your products, and subscribing to your newsletters. Now is a great time to start building customer personas so you can learn who you'll target during the branding process. For example, if you discover that your audience is primarily 50 or older, you'll want to avoid slang, and instead, focus on building a brand with a clear message and design. Similarly, brands who target customers between the ages of 18 and 25 will have a vastly different design and voice. If you're not creating a website from scratch, and instead have a "rough" idea of your business up and active, you can use data from your Google Analytics account to see what kind of content or products your existing audience enjoys. Once you've gathered all of this information, you can move on to the next step. Create your new logoLogos are essential for the success of your business. It doesn't matter if you're rebranding a business or starting from scratch, you should always take the time to design a logo that fits your brand voice and identity. Color alone can have a significant impact on the way people see and respond to your brand online. For example, color psychology studies show that companies who use blue in their logo create a sense of trust with their audience. You can see this tactic used by companies like Facebook, Dell and AT&T. On the other hand, businesses that are selling "healthy" products, nature-related items, or promoting the concept of fortune and wealth may want to consider using green in their logo. There's a reason companies like John Deere and Whole Foods use eye-catching shades of green in their logo. When you're designing your logo, it's crucial that you consider your target audience and their preferences. If you make a logo that doesn't resonate with your potential customers, there's a good chance you'll see minimum traffic and conversions. Establish your brand voiceNow that you've established your new logo, it's time to think about building your brand voice. The "voice" of your brand comes through during every interaction you have with the customer. In most cases, consumers will come to know your brand voice through your blog, website, social media posts and customer support team. Let's start with establishing your website voice. Establish your web copy first. You'll want to build your about and contact page, sales page, FAQs and more. Make sure you use the same tone and demeanor throughout the content. If you're going to start with a sense of humor, you have to be willing to carry that voice as your business grows. Blogs are an excellent place to grab the attention of new visitors. Very few people want to come to your website to instantly buy something. Only 25 percent of new leads are ready to advance to the sales phase. In other words, you need to create a reason for leads to come back to your website. Blog posts based around your niche are a great way to establish your brand voice and keep your audience engaged as they get closer to making a purchase. Excellent customer service can make a huge difference in how the public sees your company. In most cases, people are contacting customer support if they have a question, or there was a problem with their order. Winning over these customers or interested leads is vital to success. If you want to increase the odds that customers will remember your company, keep your brand voice aligned with your customer service team. Start building tractionOnce you've created your new image, you have to let potential leads and customers know that you're launching your new business, or reimagining an older company. It's much easier to build traction if you have existing customers and are currently rebranding your website. In this case, you can send out emails to your current customers and let them know that your brand has changed for the better. You'll likely already have steady traffic, certainly enough to notice when the new website goes live. If you're creating your first brand, it's important that you start building traction early on social media. The audience research exercise you conducted earlier should include the common social media platforms your target audience uses. Create business profiles on those websites first, then complete and verify your profile. Now you can start sharing your blog posts on your social media profiles and engage further with your audience. It's not a bad idea to create a lead magnet for new customers at this phase. A lead magnet is essentially a gift that a customer receives for signing up for your email list. The gift is usually an ebook, a checklist, or a guide to help the subscriber reach a goal. For instance, if you operate a website that sells gardening tools, you may want to use a how-to guide as a lead magnet called "The Ultimate Guide to a Perfect Garden." Attracting more leads to your website will help build traction and make you instantly more recognizable on social media. Everyone has a different brand voice, just like we all have different personalities. As business owners, it's our job to create brands that are helpful, creative, and offer solutions to real problems that our customers face daily. It takes time to master the process of building a brand image, but it's one that's worth learning. Think about the companies out there that inspire you, what traits do they possess that you can emulate? Our business brands are primarily the product of goals, compiled research, and presentation to our audience. We are all capable of building a brand identity, but our methods will vary based on our niche and target audience. |
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