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New Entrepreneurs: Make Your First Sale, Fast!

This is it. You’ve done it, taken the plunge: you’re finally following your dream, and you’ve got your new business up and running. You’ve been planning and perfecting, but now it’s time to invest all of your time and attention into the most important thing: getting that first, real customer (or hopefully, customers!) to start buying what you’re selling.

No problem, right? You’ve got a great idea, and you’re ready to share it with the world – and there are so many ways to share your business with the world. In fact, there are so many channels for getting your business out there that you might actually be finding it difficult to figure out the one(s) that make the most sense for your business, and that will get you the results – and the paying customers – you’re looking for. So if you’re feeling a little unsure about the next steps, check out our handy dandy tips for getting you your first sale, fast!

Getting Started

paper with a light bulb on it, a pencil and eraser — *When you are first starting, it is important to come up with a plan.*

Here’s the thing: you don’t have customers yet, so you don’t have a steady source of revenue, so you don’t have much money to spend on acquiring customers… And that means you probably also don’t have the money to hire an agency or marketing department. It’s up to you to earn your first customers at a time when your product or service probably isn’t perfect yet, and you aren’t in a position for it to sell itself, because you don’t have the name recognition.

That means you’ve got to make the constraints of limited time and money work for you. But remember, the same constraints that limit your options can also keep you on track for success. When you know exactly how much money you have and where revenue needs to be, you can be laser-focused on optimizing your sales approach to reach the target.

So where do you start? Not with Super Bowl ads and lavish launch parties, but with the basics, of course: let’s meet your prospective customer.

Get to Know Your Customers

1. Create your ideal customer avatar

Your first customer is out there, but who are they? You need to know who they are before you can go looking for them. While you want to acquire customers, you also need to be sure you’re acquiring the right customers – the ones who will stick around and bring in more customers. So ask yourself: who is my perfect customer, where do they hang out online, what are their pain points, and how can I provide solutions to them? Informal focus groups and a little online market research can help to ensure that you’re selling the right way, and giving your ideal customer what they want.

2. Network with your target customers

Now you know who you’re looking for, reach out to them! Get online where they hang out, and hang out with them. Head to the online forums and social media groups where your potential customers congregate and tell them what you’re all about. If you can, meet them face-to-face, as well, by attending trade shows and conferences, where you can make some vital connections. Consider this example of face-to-face connection success: Etsy got off the ground by traveling to craft shows and convincing vendors to sell on their site.

3. Make the first move

We know you’ve got an amazing service that should sell itself, or a product that should be walking off the shelves, but it doesn’t always work that way. Again, you’ve got to go out and meet your customers, and also introduce yourself to them, and one way to do that is with some good old-fashioned cold calling. Hey, Uber began by cold calling limo companies! Reach out to prospective customers in the way that makes most sense for your business, whether that’s online, by phone or email, or even by stopping by an office with donuts! And remember, cold calling is most effective if you’re using it as a way to mutually get to know each other, NOT as a way to immediately start in with the hard sell.

4. Use your existing network

Ok, maybe you don’t want your first customer to be your mom, but starting with your existing network is never a bad idea, since you already know them (and you know what? It still counts if your first customer is someone you know!) People you already know are a great source of info and can help you expand your network further: you can comfortably ask them about pain points and what they want and need, as well as ask them to share your business with their network.

Get to Know Your Tech Tactics

Acquiring your first customers is all about meeting people, and doing so online is a big part of growing any small business these days. So you need to know where to go and how to drive traffic to your business.

Start free and easy

social media network — *Social media is one sure way to get noticed and make a sale!*

You’re on a budget, so the first thing you should take advantage of is social media and other online communities (think: Reddit). First, figure out the best platforms for your business. You already know your customer, right? So you know where they hang out, but make sure you’re also matching your business to the platform. For example, businesses that sell products and would benefit from glossy images should definitely have a presence on Instagram.

Next, think of some ways to drum up interest, maybe by offering a promo code targeted to the specific customers you’re looking for. Just be sure not to blast out spam: low-quality promos are no replacement for trying to make authentic connections.

Finally, remember to use social media and online communities as ways to drive traffic back to your website. Always include your URL in your bios and any content you post.

Join a community

You can get involved in online communities that your customers are likely to be members of, but you can also join groups to get help and support from experienced entrepreneurs. Check out the following communities, for example:

r/Entrepreneur
r/ecommerce
Shopify Entrepreneurs Facebook Group
Grow and Sell Facebook Group
Bright Ideas and Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group
Shopify Community

Spend a money to make money

You might also have to put a bit of your budget aside to do a little paid advertising. This is a great way to get targeted advertising, and if you’re taking advantage of online advertising platforms, you might be surprised by how little you have to spend. Since many paid advertising channels allow you to pay per click, in some cases you can start with a budget as low as $10, and scale up from there if you find paid ads necessary and effective.

So where should you be putting your money? As we pointed out above, every platform is different, and you should choose the right one for you based on who you’re targeting and how the tools allow you to reach potential buyers. Remember too, that you should have a presence on a social media platform before you start advertising, so there’s something for your target audience to check out when they do click!

Some paid platforms to consider include:

Facebook advertising – According to Pew Research, Facebook is one of the most popular social networks with the most diverse user base in terms of age, income, gender and ethnicity. That means you’ll be able to use Facebook’s targeting options to really hone in on and reach your ideal customer. You can even narrow them down based on interests, so if you truly know your target market, the money you spend on Facebook ads could really get you noticed.

Instagram advertising – Instagram has one of the most engaged user bases among social networks, according to data from Smart Insights. It’s a great platform for reaching a huge number of Millennials, for influencer marketing, and for displaying your own visual ad in others’ feeds to drive traffic back to your account and website.

Google Ads – What’s the first thing that a lot of people do when they want to buy something? Google it! So you might want to try paying to advertise on Google – it can be a bit complicated, but if you’ve got a product or service with a high search volume, it might be worth it.

Have a Few Tricks Up Your Sleeve

So now you know your customers, and how to reach them. Now it’s time to make sure you have a bag of tricks up your sleeve to entice them. For example: illustration of a laptop with a website on it

Be interesting – Ha, more easy said than done, right? But to entice customers, sometimes you need to get yourself out there and tell your story. Start a blog, or offer to guest blog, and don’t be afraid of affiliate marketing.

Be creative – Cliched as it is, you need to think outside the box: advertising is fine, but you need to cut through the noise. Try hosting a contest with your product as the prize, offering to partner up with a complementary business and send samples of your product with theirs, sponsoring a local event, or asking for reviews from bloggers.

Be generous – Nothing gets people on board with a business like free stuff! You can offer free samples, a generous discount code, or a freemium upgrade. Don’t forget about using viral loops, or offering incentives for customers to share your business with their network.

If you’re just starting out, and waiting (im)patiently for your first customers to start banging down your door, this is a super exciting – and scary – time! Will you find your ideal customers? Will they stick with you? We’re feeling pretty confident that you’ll be pulling in prospects in no time – you just need to follow the tips above, and pretty soon you’ll be making your first sale. Just remember to treat those first customers well, and use those first successes to get your business growing!

How to Grow Your Business with Your Existing Customers

If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably trying to find ways to get just a little bit bigger, and you might be doing this by trying to acquire as many new customers as you can. But if you’re focusing too much on getting new customers, you could be ignoring a better and cheaper way to grow your business: customer retention. After all, now that every business has an online presence, it’s a crowded world out there, and competing for new clicks and conversions can take a whole lot of time, energy, and money. So when was the last time you thought about your strategy for keeping your existing customers, or spent time marketing specifically to them? If you hesitated when thinking about your answer, it might be time to check out some ways to build your customer retention strategy.

Why Work on Retention?

First of all, what do we mean when we talk about customer retention? It’s not just hoping that the power of your product or service will keep people coming back for more! Customer retention means focusing activities on increasing the number of repeat customers you have, and increasing the profitability of each existing customer. You offer value to your customers so you can build a customer base (acquisition), then you need to work to continue to get value from your customers. You do this by not only continuing to offer value to them, but by building relationships with them. customer retention infographic

If you start spending a little more time on customer retention, you’ll be in the minority, but you’ll be in the very smart minority. Did you know that, while 44% of businesses focus on customer acquisition, and only 18% focus on customer retention, studies show that almost 65% of a company’s business comes from repeat customers? Seems like something is a little wrong there! Not only that, but:

The probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60% and 70%, while the probability of selling to a new customer is only between 5% to 20%.
Existing customers are 50% more likely to try your business’s new product.
Existing customers are 31% more likely to spend more on their average order with your business.
The average loyal customer spends 67% more in their 31st to 36th month with a brand than in their first six months of the relationship.
A 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25% to 95%.
82% of companies agree that retention is cheaper than acquisition, and studies show it costs 5-10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one.
An average of 68% of new customers come from current customers.

By now, you’re probably ready to get out there and start selling to your existing customers! But, before we get into that, a quick side note on how much time you should spend on customer retention. It all depends on where you are in the life cycle of your business:

If you’re just starting out (no sales), you should be focused solely on customer acquisition.
If you’re at around 1-5 sales a week, you should be beginning to think about customer retention strategies, so spend about 15% of your marketing efforts on retention.
When you hit a more consistent sales level (at least one sale a day), start spending closer to 30% of your time on retention.
Once you’re established with about 10 sales per day, consider splitting your time 50/50 between acquisition and retention.
And when you’ve hit that milestone of being well established, and are making more than 10 sales a day, you can tip the scales and start focusing more of your marketing efforts on retention (say around 60% or more, depending on your business).

Measuring Up

And one more thing before we move on. When thinking about what customer retention means for your business, remember to keep tabs on the following metrics:

Repeat customer rate, or the percentage of customers willing to make a second purchase from you.

Purchase frequency, or how often customers are coming back to buy from you.
Average Order Value (AOV), or how much your customers are spending when they buy from you.

You can find online tools to help you calculate these metrics, and you can then use them to find your customer value, which helps you understand how much each customer is actually worth. Experts suggest you do the following calculation to find out this useful info: Customer Value = Purchase Frequency x Average Order Value.

Now it’s time to look at what you can do to keep those customers coming back for more!

Customer Retention Strategies

1. Build trust

Just because a customer has bought something from you doesn’t mean they automatically or instantly trust your business. But 81% of customers say that “trust” is an important factor in their decision to make a purchase. That means you have to consistently follow through on each and every one of your promises, or make things right if you don’t or can’t, so you can build what is perceived as a trustworthy brand.

2. Start a feedback loop

In order to retain customers you have to please them, right? And in order to please them, you have to know what they want, and how satisfied they are with what they get. That means starting a customer feedback loop, which can include a system for collecting, analyzing, and distributing customer reviews and surveys. Try using online tools to create and collect surveys, or consider conducting focus groups or asking customers to participate in user testing.

Once you’ve gotten the info, make sure you analyze your results, and look for customer trends that can help you address criticism, focus on your strengths, and improve customer experience – all of which will help you boost retention rates.

3. Encourage customer accounts

Customer accounts are a great idea, but you do have to be careful with how you encourage them on your site. Giving your customers the option to create an account when they make a purchase can make the sales process easier next time, so the hope is that they’ll be more likely to simply click and buy. But some people can be put off by the prospect of taking the time to input all of their info and create an account, so they will simply use the option to checkout as a guest.

So how do you get customers to create an account, and become likely repeat customers? Offer the option to create an account after checkout, so that they can simply save their info for later. Another option? Send them an invitation to create an account after they’ve made a purchase with you, which leads us to…

4. Keep in touch

Don’t underestimate the importance of staying in contact with your customers. Now, we don’t mean you should be up in their business all of the time, but you don’t want them to forget about you, either! Research shows that a great way to keep in touch with your customers is through email. After all, Shopify data shows that, relative to other sources, email has the highest conversion rate at 4.29%, followed by search in second.

And email is not just great for making that initial sale: studies show that email marketing is 56% more effective for customer retention than any other method, making it the most effective approach. How to use email effectively? Follow-up emails can make customers feel appreciated and entice them to come back for more. For example, you can send a follow-up email a week after a purchase to thank your customer, and make them feel appreciated and good about their decision to do business with you. You can then send emails that offer valuable content like product recommendations, info on upcoming sales, and discounts.

And did you know that you can use online tools, like a communication calendar, to keep track of customer communication? These calendars can tell you the last time that a customer reached out to you, and alert you when existing customers haven’t interacted with your business. Keeping on top of who you need to communicate with can be invaluable when it comes to customer retention, as it will make sure that you’re reminding customers of things like when their subscription is about to expire, and that you’re removing any roadblocks to purchasing before customers even know they’re there.

5. Be humble

Two of the hardest words to say can be “I’m sorry,” right? But if you’re running a small business, you have to know when and how to apologize to your customers. After all, according to HubSpot Research, in cases of company error, 96% of survey respondents would continue buying from a company they regularly purchased from if they apologized and rectified the situation. That means you need to develop a plan for those mistakes you are going to inevitably make, which means knowing how you are going to apologize and how you are going to solve things quickly, so you can move forward and retain your loyal customers.

6. Work on your customer support system

chat bubble with 3 dots in it — *Try to be there for your customers with a support channel for them and live chat.*

Customers these days expect a totally smooth and seamless purchasing experience, as well as instant and helpful support. If you can, try having a support system, like live chat or a help desk, so that you can quickly turn a complaint or problem into a resolution. If you can’t offer real-time help, be sure that you’re easily accessible via email, messaging, or phone, since an effectively resolved complaint or problem can turn an unhappy customer into a loyal, repeat customer.

And never forget the power of surprising and delighting your customers. Your support team should feel empowered to give benefits and thank-yous to customers who are in need of a little encouragement to become repeat customers, or who are about to cancel a membership or finish up with a free trial.

7. Start a loyalty program

Loyalty programs are an effective way to increase purchase frequency because they motivate customers to purchase more often in order to earn valuable rewards. They are easy to implement, and just check out these numbers:

58% of customers belonging to a brand’s loyalty program buy from that brand at least once per month.
69% of customers choose their retailer based on where they can earn customer loyalty rewards and points.
50% of customers change their habits just to get to a higher tier of a loyalty program they participate in.
46% of customers agree to spend more after they join a loyalty program.
83% of people say joining a loyalty program will keep them making purchases at that business.

Loyalty programs can simply mean rewarding customers after they make a purchase, or they can involve an app that rewards your customers – they can even include gamifying bringing in more customers.

Offer discounts for repeat business

While experts often warn against starting a race to the bottom, or devaluing your product/service, by constantly offering discounts, sending a thank-you discount to a first-time buyer can do wonders in boosting customer retention, as can sending a surprise discount to a customer who hasn’t purchased in a while. Consider offering more than the standard 10% off to help you stand out from the crowd.

Maybe you were already aware that keeping customers is cheaper than going out and getting new ones, but now you know exactly how important customer retention is, and just how much of an asset your existing customer base is. Your existing customers know you and your brand, and they appreciate your service and what you have to offer. That means it’s time to focus on them, and use the above tips to improve their experience, so you can deliver more value and give a big boost to your bottom line!

Should You Take the Plunge on a Podcast?

There’s no doubt about it: content is king. Yes, we know you’ve heard that before, but it’s worth repeating, because these days, no matter what type of small business you’re running, you also have to be a content creator if you’re going to compete and grow. So what’s your content of choice? Are you blogging, blasting out email marketing, posting videos on social media – or all of the above? Those are all great ways to drive traffic to your website, and bring in more leads, but have you thought about a totally 2022 way to get more people interested in your business? Have you thought about trying your hand at podcasting? It’s a lot easier (and cheaper) than you might think, so you might want to take a look at the following compelling reasons to start a podcast to grow your business.

Why Podcasts?

Before we get into some hard numbers, and some more reasons that a podcast is doable – and maybe even necessary – for your small business, let’s look at an overview of why podcasts are actually a great form of content for small business marketing purposes. With a podcast, you can:

Build a strong following for your brand – If you can nail your podcast, and release episodes on a regular basis, you’ll find that you’ll get some loyal listeners, who can become loyal to your brand.

Become an authority in your field – Regular podcasting with valuable information and creative ideas will help you establish your business as an authority in your industry. Just be sure to bring new ideas in your podcast: when asked to select the reasons why respondents listen to podcasts, 66% of respondents from a Nielsen survey selected “to learn something new.”

Be everywhere with your audience – Podcasts allow your customers to passively consume your content, meaning they’re more likely to engage with your content than if they had to sit down and focus only on that one thing. With a podcast, you can be in their cars while they’re driving, or in their ears while they’re running or making dinner.

Be everywhere for your audience – Your audience can take you with them everywhere, and you can also be found in multiple places: your website, social media, podcast-hosting sites, etc.

Get an SEO boost – Looking for another way to show up in search engines? Your podcast can be another way to sneak into those search results, and maybe even to bump you up the list.

Bring in more traffic – It’s never a bad thing to have more than one way for customers to find you! You can use your podcast to link back to your website and bring in more traffic.

Podcasting by the Numbers

The above are some excellent general reasons for getting your small business into the podcasting game, but who’s actually out there listening? You might be surprised by the following statistics:

55% of the US population (155 million people) has listened to a podcast – up from 51% in 2019.
50% of all US homes are podcast fans, and 16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans.”
37% (104 million people) listened to a podcast in the last month – up from 32% in 2019, and 24% (68 million people) listen to podcasts weekly, up from 22% in 2019.
27.1% of listeners are subscribed to over 70 different podcasts.
45% of monthly podcast listeners have household income over $75K, versus 35% for the total population.
48% of listeners listen to podcasts more than they did last year.
Small business owners are out there listening, too: more than one-third (39%) of owners of SMBs listen to podcasts, and 65% listen at least weekly.

Podcast listeners are out there, and they are pretty easy to find:

Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel (94% are active on at least one, versus 81% for the entire population).
Podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media.

And not only are a lot of people out there listening, they are listening a lot:

Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week, up from 5 in 2017
82.4% of podcast fans listen to 7 or more hours of podcasts each week, compared with 76.8% in 2018. 22.4% of respondents listen to more than 22 hours each week – more than 3 hours per day.
59% of respondents spend more time listening to podcasts than they do on social media.
66% report they listen to podcasts more than they watch TV.
When podcast listeners tune in to an episode, 80% of them stay tuned in for most or all of the episode (with 44% listening to most of it, and 42% listening to all of it), meaning a podcast could help you keep customers engaged with your brand for 20 minutes or more.

Finally, the icing on the cake: these listeners do get influenced by the podcasts they listen to:

Last year, 48.8% of respondents said they purchased an item after hearing it advertised on a podcast, and this year that number grew to 55.6%.
76% of listeners say they’ve taken action after hearing a podcast ad, which could include visiting a site, making a purchase or taking out a subscription.

Why a Podcast Can Work for You

Podcasts are a great type of content to add into your arsenal, and they can reach a lot of potential customers, but when it comes down to creating one, can you actually fit it into your budget and your schedule? Well, creating a podcast:

Doesn’t have to be time-consuming, or require a ton of technical knowledge – Podcasts are actually easier to create than you might think. You don’t need a lot of technical knowledge: you can create a podcast by using the free tools that are available on the web. And you don’t even need to have a lot of extra time on your hands. Depending on your time, interests, and the money you want to spend, you can outsource everything from booking guests, editing, publishing, transcription, show notes, and promotion. You can simply be the host of the podcast – and that’s the fun part!

Doesn’t have to break the bank – If you do want to get some help with your podcast, professional services that take care of things other than hosting can start at just $500 a month, depending on how often you publish and how much assistance you need. But if you want to get all the benefits of podcasting on a shoestring budget, all you really need is a microphone (which can run under $100), and a podcast hosting service, which typically only costs around $20 a month.

Podcasting Hosting Services

If all of this sounds intriguing to you, we’ll leave you with a little technical help to get you started on your podcasting journey to growth. We mentioned podcast hosting services: a host acts like a middle person between the podcast and its subscribers. It also works as a centralized, online storage facility where you can keep all your audio files in the form of a single webpage, the RSS feed. Platforms like Apple Podcast and Spotify are great places to find new subscribers, but they do not let you store the podcasts on their servers. They use your podcast RSS feed links to display the content. A podcast host will create your RSS feed for you, so your podcast can be found on those popular platforms.

If you’re looking for some good podcast hosts, check these five out:

Buzzsprout – Great for beginners, free to get started
Spreaker – One-stop shop for podcast hosting
Captivate – Created for independent podcasters
Transistor – Refined podcast platform built for pros
Podbean – Unlimited storage and bandwidth

You might not have gotten into business to get into the content game, but these days, some creative content with a well thought out strategy can really drive growth, so you’re going to need to just go with it. And you know what? You might as well have some fun creating it, by spending just a few extra minutes and a few extra dollars on a podcast that delivers valuable content to your customers.

Is “Shiny Object Syndrome” Slowing Your Growth?

Having a lot of good ideas is great if you’re an entrepreneur. In fact, your creativity, imagination, and ability to see what others can’t is probably what got you where you are. But is there a downside to having a brain that’s constantly churning out ideas? Unfortunately, if you’re running a business, there might be: you could end up constantly chasing what’s new and exciting for your business, and your core business could fall victim to “shiny object syndrome” (SOS). Let’s take a look at what that means, how it can negatively affect your business’ growth, and how you can avoid it.

What Is Shiny Object Syndrome?

There are certain illnesses or conditions that people tend to be susceptible to, for whatever reason – genetics, lifestyle, etc. And, while it isn’t something that your doctor can diagnose, shiny object syndrome is something that plagues a lot of entrepreneurs, simply because of the qualities that make them unique. If you’re in this special group of people, you’re probably:

Highly motivated
Someone who craves innovation and new developments
Unafraid of starting new projects
More likely to attempt to bring an idea to life

All excellent qualities, right? But the dark side of these qualities can lead to shiny object syndrome, which is marked by a tendency to:

Become distracted
Lose interest in a project and go after something else that captures your attention
Start projects based on ideas without properly assessing the long-term goals, feasibility, and sustainability of the projects, which in its most extreme form can stop you from completing anything
Feel a sense of guilt that compels you to chase something that might just around the corner, and is bigger, better, and more exciting to work on
Get overwhelmed and stressed out by how many projects you are in the middle of

All of the above are the essence of SOS. Suffering from it means that, instead of focusing on the big picture tasks that fuel your business’ growth, you’ll end up getting side-tracked by a new business idea or project that feels new and exciting, similar to a child who gets distracted by every “shiny object” they see. But for you, it won’t be a shiny new toy that you’re chasing, but things like business objectives, marketing strategies, clients, or even other business ventures.

How Can Shiny Object Syndrome Affect Your Business?

We’re not saying that wanting to update your business and keeping your eye out for interesting possibilities are necessarily bad goals. But uncontrolled shiny object syndrome can, unfortunately, be a real growth killer. Jumping from project to project, not completing projects, or being unable to focus can lead to some serious consequences, like:

Wasted resources – Research has shown that entrepreneurs who jump too quickly into new ideas without thinking them through end up costing their companies thousands of dollars in resources, time, and productivity. Think about it this way: unfinished projects won’t make you the money to pay back their costs. Your business could also suffer from wasted opportunities, because these dead-end projects waste your time (or the time of your employees) when you could be working on more productive endeavors.

A hit to your health – Constantly worrying that you need to chase the next “shiny object” (otherwise known as fear of missing out, or FOMO) can lead to stress, fatigue, and sleep issues.

A confused and stressed staff – You’re not the only one who will be affected by constantly switching between goals or business directions. If you have a team, they won’t be able to keep up with the changes, their workflow will constantly be disrupted when they’re forced to learn new things, and they will see their goals become unpredictable and even irrelevant. This could eventually lead to stressed out employees, who are less loyal and productive. In fact, 41% of employees say that switching between goals in this way is a leading cause of workplace stress.

Poor planning and directives – If you’re constantly jumping from plan to plan, you’ll never stick with a plan long enough to properly test it. And even if something does work in one of your new plans, you won’t actually be able to put your finger on why it worked. There simply won’t be enough data to model from if you’re switching things up week-to-week.

What Can You Do to Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome?

So if shiny object syndrome is so dangerous for the health of you, your staff, and your business, what can you do to beat it? Try the following strategies:

Understand that you’re prone to it – Yes, the first step is to know that you are prone to it. Once you’ve done that, sit down and assess the way you work, and focus on the strengths that you can build on.

Ditch the FOMO for proper planning – Once you’ve assessed your work style, you have to get better at assessing the potential of all of those shiny things that cross your path. Sometimes you do need to jump on an opportunity, but before you do that, stop! Assess the potential impact on your workload or business, and be objective about it. Doing so will help you identify whether the product or service will be helpful to you or your business and improve decision-making. You might also want to test out your idea, whether it’s a new product, or a new service like an online workshop. Remember: not every trend is the next big thing, so don’t operate your business based on the FOMO model!
Know your goals and what matters for your business – Similarly to assessing each idea to see if it’s really right for your business, you also need to assess your business’ goals to know if your new ideas fit in with them. Try using Warren Buffett’s three-step exercise for being more in tune with your goals:
- Make a list of your top 25 goals
- Review this list and pick your top 5 goals from the total 25 goals
- Start working on the top 5 goals list

As for the remaining 20? Warren suggests you ignore them like the plague. This is your ‘avoid-at-all-costs list.’

Other experts recommend another exercise for focusing on what really matters in your business. Determine what 1% of your business produces 50% of your results and work on that for a few hours every day, without any other outside distractions.

Remember, if you’re jumping from shiny object to shiny object, you’re going to have a hard time sticking to your core goals, so be very careful how you start branching out. two hands shaking with words of communication and teamwork on them

Communicate with your team – It’s important to sit on ideas before you act on them, but it’s also important to talk to your team members about them before you make any moves. Ask them what they think, and listen to their perspectives, concerns and needs. Talking to them might help you realize when you’re moving too fast, and if you do decide to go through with your decision, they’ll be happier with your decision, since you came to them first.
Set goals – and don’t abandon them! – Every project you take on should have clear short- and long-term SMART goals, with projections on how long the project should take, and shorter term milestones that can keep you and your team focused. And unless there’s a serious change in circumstances or finances, stick with each project until you reach your goals.

Don’t forget the little things – There are also a few more little, practical things that will actually go a long way in helping to fight SOS, like:

- Limit your time on social media (it lies!)
- Give yourself a limit on the number of projects you can take on at a time
- Make a checklist of all of your successful projects, as both an incentive and a roadmap to further success
- Get comfortable with your niche, and know that it’s your true calling

Shiny object syndrome is a productivity and growth killer, not to mention a drain on you and your employees. While it’s great that you’re just bursting with ideas, the next time one (or two, or three) hit you like a thunderbolt, don’t rush into anything! Stop, breathe, and ask yourself all the questions that need to be asked so you can determine if the idea is worth your time and resources, and if it fits into the bigger picture of your business’ goals. You CAN take control, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed and distracted, use the tips above to help you get more focused and productive.

Want to Get Ahead? You Need to Know Your Competition

What keeps you up at night as a small business owner? Profit margins, product launches, how to win customers and keep the ones you’ve got? Ok, but how about your competition? Whatever kind of business you’re running, no matter how unique you are (and we’re sure you’ve got your own dazzling USP), you’re sure to have another business that’s doing something at least similar, and competing with you for customers. It’s up to you to know what they’re up to so you can have a fighting chance, and we’re not just talking about scrolling through their social media accounts or checking out their website. We’re talking about something more in-depth: a competitive (or competitor) analysis.

What Is a Competitive Analysis?

Simply put, a competitive analysis is a strategy for:

Identifying competitors in your industry
Researching their marketing tactics, products, and sales
Using this information as a way to compare your business with your competition, so you can identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses relative to each competitor

It sounds like more work than a simple breeze through social media – and it is. But it will be worth it for the insights you gain.

Why Do a Competitive Analysis?

So why embark on a project like this, when you’ve got so much on your plate? Well, there are a lot of benefits to doing a competitive analysis, including: illustration of a laptop screen with competitor websites on the screen

Gaining a better understanding of your market – When you start identifying who your competitors are, you might discover some businesses that you didn’t know about, or that you hadn’t even considered to be your competition before. In addition, when you more thoroughly understand your competition, you might also be able to identify areas where your market is underserved, so you can move in and fill those unmet customer needs, or even find a new niche for your business.

Getting an insight into industry trends – You’ll be able to see where things are headed, but you’ll also know how your competition is reacting, so you can zig when they zag!

Identifying your business’ strengths and weaknesses – Knowing how your competitors are perceived will help you draw conclusions about your own brand’s strengths and weaknesses. With a competitive analysis, you’ll be able to identify your business’ unique value proposition in comparison to others, and what makes you different from your competitors. This will allow you to clearly communicate to potential customers why your product or service is the best choice of all those available. And studying your competition to find out what they’re doing right will help you understand where you fall short in your relation to your competition, so you can identify areas where you may want to invest time and resources.

Identifying your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses – Knowing what your competitors are doing right will help you stay relevant and ensure that both your products/services and your marketing campaigns are outperforming industry standards. And knowing their weaknesses will tell you where your competitors are falling short, which will help you identify areas of opportunities, and maybe even figure out new, unique marketing strategies they haven’t taken advantage of.

So there’s lots to be gained by doing a bit of research into your competition. But where do you start? Check out the following steps.

Doing a Competitive Analysis

Start your competitive analysis by creating a competitor matrix on a spreadsheet.

Conducting a competitive analysis just means following the steps below, so you can get a comprehensive look at what your competition is doing compared with what your business is doing. Start by:

Creating a competitor matrix

A good way to start with your competitive analysis is by creating a competitor matrix. This can simply be a table or spreadsheet you can use to compile your research, which will help you spot trends as you go. On your matrix, or grid, you’ll have one row or column for each competitor that you’ve identified. On the other axis, you’ll list data points or categories of information you want to find out about each of your competitors. Some of the basics you’ll be starting with might include company history and location.

Determining who your competition is, and what they’re offering

Now you’re ready to go. Start with the basics: who is your competition – who are you going to put in each of the columns on your matrix? This means making a list of businesses where your customers would turn if they weren’t going to buy from you. Make sure you separate your potential competitors into two categories:

Direct competitors – These businesses sell a similar product or service to a similar target audience. These are likely the companies that first come to mind when you think of your competition.

Indirect competitors – These businesses sell a different product or service in the same category as your business, but target an audience similar to yours. For example, if you run a coffee and dessert cafe, a luncheonette that also has dessert offerings might be your indirect competition. Or think of clothing subscription services: some offer designer items, while others offer workout gear – these companies would be indirect competitors.

While you’ll want to focus more on your direct competition, you should always keep one eye on your indirect competitors: you never know when they’re going to make a move into your territory.

Narrow your list of direct competitors down to around 10 diverse businesses that you can really focus on. Once you’ve done that, start analyzing your competitor’s complete product/service line and the quality of the products or services they’re offering. In addition, ask questions like:

Are they low-cost or higher-cost?
Are they operating on a volume basis, or are they mostly one-off sales?
How do they distribute their product or services?

Profiling your competition’s target customers

You’ve got an idea of who your competition is and what they’re offering, so it’s time to think about who those businesses are targeting. To get a good idea of your competition’s target customers:

Read their mission statement
Check out any messaging they use
Look at their social media accounts, and get an idea of who they’re responding to, how they’re interacting with them, and who they follow
See if there are any customer testimonials in their content, so you can see who they’re highlighting

Unsurprisingly, you’ll probably find a lot of overlap with your target customers – you’re competitors, after all! But you might find some very useful small differences that you can take advantage of.

Examining their sales tactics

Some of the information about how your competition’s sales tactics work might be trickier to come by, but if you can, get some answers to the following:

What does their sales process look like?
What channels are they selling through?
Do they have multiple locations?
Are they expanding? Scaling down?
Do they offer discounts?
Why do their customers choose them over you, or vice versa? Why do they end relationships with your competition?
What is their revenue and total sales volume?

Completing the 4 P’s

If you’ve already looked at “place” (or locations of your competitors, and the market to which they primarily sell), and the “products” they offer (including any special features they offer, and what is most and least appealing about them), it’s time to complete the 4 P’s and look at “pricing” and “promotion.”

When thinking about pricing, ask these questions:

What kind of pricing model do your competitors use? One-time purchase or subscription?
How much do they charge for their product or service? Do they offer sales or discounts?
How does their pricing reflect the quality, or perceived quality, of their product or service?

When you’ve answered these questions, you can look at if the quality of your product/service in comparison warrants you raising your prices, or, alternatively, if there is a gap in the market for a more affordable option. You can also consider matching any perks or discounts (like referral discounts, or free trials) that your competitors are offering, if it seems right for your business.

Next, promotion, or marketing: how do your competitors go about reaching their target customers? Ask questions like:

What unique selling propositions do they emphasize?
How do they tell their company story and talk about their brand?
What kind of advertising avenues do they use? Traditional print, social media, email newsletters? Do they have a blog, or post videos and webinars, or even host a podcast? Have they found a really unique tactic, like guerilla marketing?

Looking at your competitors’ content strategy and social media presence

Related to the above, you’ll have to take a look at your competitor’s content strategy, including how often they’re posting on social media, their website, and/or their blog, etc, and the quality of their content. Is it original, accurate, in-depth, and full of engaging photos? And, most importantly, is it working for them?

To determine this, head to social media and see if:

Certain topics seem to hit the mark better than others
The comments are negative, positive, or a mix
People are tweeting about specific topics more than others
Readers respond better to Facebook updates about certain content
There is specific content of theirs that is highly shared and linked to. How does your content compare?
Your target audience is using specific platforms more than others
There are sites that are linking back to your competitor’s site but not yours
Third parties are sharing what your competitors are publishing
You can see who is referring traffic to your competitor’s site

Performing a SWOT analysis on your competition

Finally, try performing a SWOT analysis on your competition, or identifying their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. If you’re not familiar with this type of analysis, check out our description of how to do one here – and don’t forget to do one for your own business!

When it comes to your business, that old saying “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” doesn’t apply. Whether your business is big or small, well-established or just starting out, you can’t afford to be ignorant of what your competition is up to. You need to do some strategic planning around them, and a competitive analysis is a great place to start. Follow the steps outlined above, and consider performing a SWOT analysis on your own business once you’ve done so, so you can set yourself up for success!

Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket? It Might Be Time to Create Some New Revenue Streams

Doesn’t it feel great to be running a business that’s actually generating revenue? Are you amazed by it all? No, of course not! Because you started with a solid idea and well thought out goals, so naturally you’re succeeding. But wait – before you get too comfortable, have you thought about what might happen if business slows down? You could end up running out of cash, and that’s definitely a position you don’t want to be in. If this is something that could happen to your business, it might be time to get proactive and start adding some revenue streams, so you can be sure that your business will keep growing!

Getting Creative with Your Assets

So what do we mean when we say you should be looking for more revenue streams? Well, basically, that means taking what assets you have and using them to generate more revenue for your business. These assets can be physical, but they can also be intangible. Get creative when it comes to what you have to offer customers! We’ll get into that more below, but for now, here’s a great, simple example of what it means to take what you have and use it to create cash flow.

Let’s say you have a car. That’s most definitely an asset, and could be used to generate revenue – sure, you could sell it for ready cash, but you could also get creative. You could:

Rent the car to other people
Use it for ride-sharing/as a taxi service
Sell advertising space on it

That’s just an easy example to get the juices flowing: your assets and how you can creatively capitalize on them is up to you!

Why take the time to think about diversifying? Well, besides what we touched on above – the fact that relying on a single revenue source can be risky – taking the time to think about new sources of revenue is a good goal in and of itself. Why? Well, if you’re completely focused on a single revenue stream, you might actually get distracted from growth as that single product, client, or service starts demanding all of your focus. Putting all of your time and energy into one source, leaves little room to explore other opportunities, and can lead to complacency, which can be the kiss of death for a small business!

As Peter Frumkin and Elizabeth K. Keating wrote in Diversification Reconsidered, “Business and non-profit researchers have long argued that by establishing and maintaining multiple streams of funding… organizations are able to avoid excessive dependence on any single revenue source, stabilize their financial positions, and thereby reduce the risk of financial crises.”

Adding Revenue Streams

So let’s take a look at some examples of how you might be able to add revenue streams, so you can avoid the double risk of putting all of your eggs in one basket and falling into complacency – and grow your business.

Add a subscription service

We often think of subscriptions as working well with businesses like SaaS models, so if that’s what your business is focused on, you should seriously consider allowing customers access to your services or products by paying a monthly, yearly, or quarterly fee. Why? You’ll have a reliable source of revenue so you can easily predict how much you can expect to take in each month (at least from your subscriptions). Not only that, but for some products and services, subscriptions tend to feel like a lower risk than upfront purchases for customers, which could make it easier to close sales.

But even if your business isn’t SaaS-based, or something you’d normally associate with subscriptions (like a streaming service, for example), you can still get creative and find a way to add revenue from subscribing customers into the mix. For example, if your business is product-based, consider offering subscriptions boxes that allow your customers to sample products, or adding the option to have their product re-upped every month to make their lives easier (think: Dollar Shave Club, for example). Or, if you offer a service that isn’t software, licensing, or something else that seems to work naturally as a subscription, consider offering a “membership” option for your services, and giving those customers attractive extras.

While you do have to be really on the ball when it comes to offering subscription services, and invest resources to avoid high cancellation rates, if you get it right, your subscription services will regularly keep you in mind for your customers. This will make them more likely to buy additional products or recommend your services.

Offer a workshop or online course

laptop screen open with a person on the screen writing on a white board — *Consider providing a workshop or online course that would be beneficial to your customers.*

You know what you’re talking about, right? Why not offer your expertise as an online course or workshop so you can display your industry knowledge AND keep your customers engaged with how your product or service can enhance their lives? For example, if you sell food or kitchen-related items, try offering video cooking tutorials that feature your products. But you don’t have to offer a product to make this model work for you: you simply need to find a creative way to showcase your knowledge, and give your customers a compelling call-to-action.

How should you approach this revenue stream? Make sure you’re getting customer feedback on what customers like about your product or services and what they want to know more about. Then decide how to package your workshops or courses: you can offer them as a subscription service, a recurring class that your customers register for, or you can offer them as one-time purchases for your customers.

Open up to advertising

There are ways you can leverage your customer base to bring in some extra revenue, by trying out different forms of advertising. For example, if you are producing audio (like podcasts) or video content, and you’ve got a following, consider creating ad breaks in your content and selling that time to relevant companies. Or, if you have an email list or blog, you can also partner with other brands to advertise their products or services to your subscribers.

In addition to the more old-fashioned model of simply selling advertising space, you can also consider affiliate marketing. This means you’ll promote other services and products either through your own website or on social media, or in person, and when one of your customers purchases what you’re promoting, your business gets a commission. The more products or services you sell, the more commissions you make.

These are great ways to make some extra money without having to invest a lot of resources – just make sure you choose the brands you associate with wisely!

Look into leasing

Do you have some big assets that you aren’t always using, like a large office space, a van or truck, or specialty equipment? Consider renting or leasing them out: you’ll gain a new type of customer who is more likely to spend their money, since they don’t need to justify a big, long-term purchase; you’ll also be generating a lot of revenue from one single asset over a period of time. Just remember to account for wear and tear, as well as depreciation, to whatever it is you’re leasing out!

Add additional products or services

shopping cart on a laptop screen with credit cards on the table next to it — *Consider providing more services and options that will bring in more revenue.*

This might seem like a really obvious suggestion, but you can also get creative with the way you add new offerings to your customers. Yes, you can simply start selling a new product related to your existing line, or expanding your services, but you can also flip the script. If you sell a particular product, consider adding a complementary service, or if you’re service-focused, consider offering a more affordable, productized version of your services. For example, do you have a great home design product? Consider offering some interior design consulting. Or do you do digital marketing? Consider offering a product package to small businesses.

There’s a reason that people warn against putting all of your eggs in one basket: one wrong move and you could lose everything you worked so hard for. And sometimes you can do everything right, and still find yourself with a floor covered in broken eggs – anyone remember 2020?? If the market suddenly shifts again as it did then, and your main source of revenue dries up for a bit, you could end up scrambling to find sources of revenue. So it might be in your best interest to look for ways to diversify now and get yourself ahead of the game! Try dipping your toe into the waters of one or two new revenue streams for now, and remember not to get distracted from your vision and main goals for your business. Now get out there and grow!