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Sep 21 2016

Are you spending your time effectively on Facebook?

 

Kelly Farrell - Teach Me Social -headshot (2)

Are you spending time looking at the right parts of your Facebook business page? It’s so easy to get distracted by “shiny things” on Facebook, but as a business owner it’s important to stay focused on your goal to connect with your followers. Having a strategy for your social media marketing should also include regular maintenance on your Facebook page to ensure that what you are posting and sharing is actually connecting with the right followers.

  1. Update the “About” tab on your Facebook Business Page regularly. Take a few minutes at least once a month to revisit and revise the fields with important information about your business. In particular, ensure that the Short Description, Long Description and all contact details are up-to-date and accurate.
  2. Review the Insights for your Facebook Business Page often to analyze what posts are reaching your audience and are engaging your followers. The Insights can help you identify the best time to post and can provide you with more demographic information about the people who engage with your Page.
  3. Monitor the interaction on your posts and be sure to reply to all comments quickly! The average social media user expects a reply within 1 hour to a comment that they make on social media. Be considerate of the time someone took to make a comment, and respond in kind, even if just to say Thank You!
  4. Share your involvement in local or online events and be sure to create event listing for events that your business is hosting. Invite your friends and contacts to join your event page for updates and event information. If you are participating in someone else’s event, you can add that event to your page’s event listing without creating a new event. This helps to connect your business page with others, thus increasing your visibility!
  5. Know when to spend money on boosted posts and promotions on Facebook and allocate an appropriate budget for this purpose. Keep in mind that you should first set up target audiences in Facebook Ad Manager before spending any money on promotions. The more time you spend to target the right demographic, the more return you will see on your ad spend.

To learn more about how to maximise the effectiveness of your Facebook marketing efforts, schedule a complimentary consultation with Teach Me Social. Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over four years. Teach Me Social offers effective social media services which include training sessions and consulting as well as full-service social media account management.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kelly Farrell · Tagged: business, Business Woman, entrepreneur, Facebook, marketing, small business, social media, strategy, Time Management, training

Sep 12 2016

Women On Top

 

FB Pic

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about life as an entrepreneur versus life in the corporate world and how it has affected me as a woman. I am thinking in particular about my ceiling in both worlds.  How much success can women achieve in both worlds?  How far out of reach is the ceiling and have us as women found the magic formula to breaking that glass ceiling?

Let’s start with the corporate world.  In my case our corporate structure is that of the “good old boys club”.  Senior executives are the picture of corporate with not a woman in sight.  Middle management is made up of about 10 percent women.  On the bottom of the totem pole, the structure is as expected – a male dominated production group and a female dominated office group.  To excel in an environment as this takes a lot of game play and sometimes ruthlessness.  You cannot be too tough or else you are labeled as “bitchy” or “moody” and you cannot be overly nice or you can be deemed to office “harlot.”  You not only have to play the game, but you also have to continuously prove your knowledge and capabilities to the powers that be.  This part has me baffled.  Why?  I’m sure those powers would not have made you a part of the organization if you were not remotely qualified to do the job or if they didn’t feel you were well suited for the position and the company.  How far up the corporate ladder can women get in an environment such as this?  It’s a far climb for us and especially rough when obstacles are placed in our way.  My feeling is that we are fighting continuously for what we deserve – even when it is earned.  Not many of us know how to demand what we have earned.  In my case, I have set my goals to what my definition of success would be in the corporate world.  Do I want to be President of the company? NO!! What I want is what I have earned – nothing more and definitely nothing less!!

As an entrepreneur I have the opportunity to be the President, Owner, Assistant, Director, coffee runner, pencil sharpener…you name it, I am in charge of it.  More women are going down the entrepreneurial path without really understanding how much more work it takes to be successful. As a female entrepreneur, when I attend networking events that are male dominated I get a lot of pats on the back and “good for you”, “you’re a smart girl”, “you did this all on your own” from the male networkers.  It is as if I am not perceived of being capable of achieving all that I have or that I have or that it is a surprise that a woman can really be successful in their world.  There are also always a few men who are there to be the “saviours” or “messiah.”  I remember being told by one man in particular who came to a female dominated networking event that he was there to help the women.  Take note, he said HELP not SUPPORT. Now, I will be the first to agree that we all need to support each other, but what I do not like is the notion that women cannot find ways to help each other succeed.  We are a resourceful group and we find ways to dig our way out of a hole.  There is still that mental and societal influence that makes us feel like being solopreneurs is the pinnacle of success.  Why not strive to grow your business into a multinational corporation? Sky is the limit-not the glass ceiling.  It truly depends on what your personal goal is.

For me, I enjoy the challenges of both the corporate world and the entrepreneurial world.  Women will always have to work extra hard to break that glass ceiling.  For most of us, the ceiling is not made by others, but by our personal limiting beliefs.  Identifying what is causing these beliefs is the first step towards breaking the ceiling and allowing ourselves to strive for the highest of highs.  I know one thing – this woman plans to be on the top when it comes to the entrepreneurial game. I will not stop until my business is where I want it to be – Canada-wide.  I will not let being woman be a hindrance.  It is not a crutch.

 

Dwania is the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Canadian Small Business Women · Tagged: business, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, corporate world, entrepreneur, executives, glass ceiling, good old boys club, help, limiting beliefs, networking, solopreneur, support, women, Women on Top

Aug 28 2016

3 Reasons Self-Reflection Matters In Business

Reflection_1

In a life of business, it can become tempting to look forward and outward. You’re always striving for success, dealing with competition, and looking to better yourself, your company, or both. There are external forces at work, and there’s always someplace higher to climb. This is good. It’s a spirit of pursuit that drives some of the most successful people in business! But I’d also argue that it’s important for anyone who hopes to be successful in this kind of environment to learn the value of self-reflection. With so much focus outward and upward, here are three reasons I’d argue looking inward matters, too.

1. You Can Understand Yourself Better

The clearest benefit of self-reflection is that it can help you to gain a better understanding of your own personality or tendencies. This is true both in general and with regard to your performance in business. Self-reflection is the process of asking yourself questions to develop a deeper level of understanding about yourself, as stated in a blog post at a tech communications site. It’s actually one of the more effective definitions out there. You simply get to know yourself better, and you do so in a way that can allow you to better shape yourself as an business owner, employee, or entrepreneur.

2. You Can View Your Own Development

In addition to gaining a better understanding of yourself in a given moment or situation, self-reflection can also help you to better view how you’ve developed over time, and what that development might say about you. At an online coaching platform for MBA applicants, one student discusses the benefit of making sense of previous experiences while writing about himself. This in essence is another way of saying that through self-reflection, this student gained a more thorough understanding of what had driven him to a given point, including successes and failures. Feeling out your own history this way can help you to understand what works and what doesn’t work for you, and it can influence your actions moving forward in a very real way.

3. You Can Increase Your Leadership Capacity

It falls in line with the idea of understanding yourself and your own tendencies. However, an article at LinkedIn pointed out that self-reflection in a business environment can also help you to gain an increased awareness of problematic performance traits, the same way you might look to recognize them in employees or co-workers. With this in mind, you can actually approach self-reflection almost as a kind of performance review for yourself, particularly if you happen to be in a position of leadership. You can recognize problematic traits and address them so as to become a more effective leader and co-worker.

It’s always a good idea to look inside, perhaps particularly so when you’re in the middle of a fast-paced, competitive work environment. With too much focus on external forces and the drive forward, you can easily lose sight of what it is that makes you effective in your job, or what it is you might need to work on. Taking regular time for self-reflection can work wonders.

Patti Conner

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Patti Conner · Tagged: business, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, capacity, development, entrepreneur, forward, Linkedin, outward, self-reflection, small business owners, success, understand

Aug 15 2016

3 Reasons We Have to Learn to Say No

sandra

I’ll admit that there was a time when saying no was a problem for me. As a chronic people pleaser, I was always saying yes to things I should have been saying no to. It led to overwhelm, frustration and often times, resentment. This is why I feel pretty confident in sharing these three reasons why we have to learn to say no.

  1. You risk becoming a bitter b-tch

When we don’t have boundaries, there are always going to be people who take advantage of the situation. If you don’t want to feel like you’re constantly being treated like a doormat, you’re going to have to put on your big girl panties and start saying no. Sure it will feel uncomfortable at first, but if you don’t learn how to say no soon, you’re going to end up bitter and resentful. When it gets to this point you run the risk of saying no to things you should actually be saying yes to.

  1. There’s always someone else who will say yes

Many times we choose to say yes because we worry that if we don’t the person asking will be left stranded. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re playing the martyr in a situation like this. We feel like we have to sacrifice our time and do what’s asked of us because if we don’t the world will come to a complete standstill. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but as wonderfully special as you are, you cannot possibly be the only go-to person for every favour request. Believe me when I say that even if you say no, it will get done – eventually 🙂

  1. You’ve got your own empire to build!

I’m sure you have your own list of things to accomplish, goals you want to achieve, dreams you want to make a reality. If you spend all your time taking care of everyone else’s needs, when do you find the time to get the things that are important to you done? You’ve got to find a way to balance it all. If you haven’t reviewed your priorities lately, then there’s no time like the present! If we don’t identify what’s important to us, then we don’t know where we should be focusing our time and energy. When we lack focus, it’s so much easier to get pulled in many different directions, none of them serving our needs in any way.

It’s okay to say no sometimes. Know that NO can actually be a full and complete sentence. You don’t have to give an explanation or justify it. If you feel you need to, go ahead. I’ll give you this warning though – no matter what the explanation is; there will be those that don’t want to hear it. Especially those who are used to you saying yes all the time. Some will even consider this change in behaviour a bit selfish. The good news is that most will respect you for it in the long run and your relationships will benefit as well. Like TD Jakes says, “greatness is contagious”. You might as well focus on your greatness so that you can lift those around you to the same level. If you don’t have the time to focus on you, how will you ever become the rising tide that lifts all boats?

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution. She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect:

www.embraceyourdestiny.ca

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook

www.twitter.com/sandradawes

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Sandra Dawes · Tagged: boundaries, build your empire, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, Dreams, entrepreneur, no, people pleaser, Sandra Dawes, Say No, say yes, TD Jakes

Aug 11 2016

Dealing with a negative review

CHuntly

You put your heart and soul into building your business. Whether you sell a product or a service, no matter how amazing it is, it’s inevitable you are going to run into a few negative reviews. They can crop up for any number of reasons: the customer is having a bad day; something went wrong with your product/service; what you offer really just wasn’t a good fit with the customer; or perhaps it was the ever-present internet troll (people who will do or say anything to get a rise out of someone).

Whatever the reason for the negative review, don’t take it personally.

Here are a few things to consider so you can come out ahead after a bad review.

  1. CREATE A PLAN: In fact, if you have protocols in place ahead of time, then you can be strategic about your response rather than rely on decisions that might be based on an emotional reaction. Regardless of the situation, how you respond shouldn’t differ.
  2. DON’T WAIT TOO LONG TO RESPOND PUBLICLY: Gage the situation – if it’s an internet troll, they are just looking for an argument. If it’s a credible customer situation, respond strategically within 48 hours. A quick response and an attempt at a positive outcome reflects positively on you. In many cases the review may be edited or deleted if they are happy, but never ask them to remove a bad review.
  3. TAKE IT OFFLINE: While it’s good for everyone to see that you are listening to your customers and are concerned about their experience with your brand, you don’t need to air all of the nitty gritty details of the situation publicly. Ask to move the conversation to private message, email, or even a phone call, depending on the situation.
  4. CREATE A DIALOGUE: A bad review is a great opportunity for you to build a strong foundation for a long-term relationship with a customer. You are both human, after all. Show a willingness to work with them, be truthful, but keep it neutral – keep emotion out of your problem-solving.
  5. Don’t pick a fight: STOP YELLING AT PEOPLE BY RESPONDING IN ALL CAPS! It just makes you look like you are ready for a fight. Apologize and move on.
  6. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY: Your customers and potential customers are always listening. A bad review can turn away customers and you may not have a chance to win them back. If more than one person has the same complaint, then you need to take a step back and review your approach – that many people can’t be wrong.
  7. ENCOURAGE CUSTOMER REVIEWS: A great loyalty program or contest can encourage your customers to review you. The goal is to outweigh the bad with the good. You can’t (and shouldn’t) have the negative review removed but the more reviews you have, the more credible you look.
  8. LEARN FROM IT: A negative review is a great chance for you to learn more about what types of customers you shouldn’t Refine your target audience by listening. You can also tweak your approach and potentially your product/service offering based on negative reviews. Remember, multiple negative reviews about the same thing means that you are doing something wrong.

A negative review doesn’t have to be the end of the world. How you choose to deal with it will either allow you to come out ahead or fall behind. The important thing to remember is that you can always work to win back favour from your customers if you do it in the right way.

Have you gotten a negative review and you’re not sure what to do, or maybe you handled it wrong? Feel free to reach out so I can help you find a solution that is right for you.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, Candace Huntly, dialogue, entrepreneur, learn, negative review, offline, plan, respond, Songbird Marketing Communications, take it seriously

Aug 01 2016

Angela Boschee: Canadian Small Business Woman of the Month of July 2016

Angela at Runwayz
Runwayz began in 2005 as a home based business and has to grown to our current location in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta. We are pleased to offer unique and hard to find gift ideas including general gift ware, baby and kids clothing and toys, ladies footwear and accessories, and home accents. We are thrilled to be soon celebrating our website’s one year anniversary! Our website isrunwayzboutique.com and we ship anywhere in the world.

Province

AB

Company Mission

We enjoy providing a great variety of hard to find and one of a kind gift ideas for everyone on your list!

Product/Service Description

Unique Gift Ideas
Ladies Footwear, Accessories, and More
Baby and Kids Clothing & Toys
Home Accents

Journey to Mompreneurship

Every since I was a little girl I dreamed of owning my own store someday. That dream combined with a love of shopping brought me to where I am today. I am thrilled to own my own boutique, balancing being a stay at home Mom with my store. I also love to host local small business showcases, continuing to offer small businesses such as myself a place to present what they have to offer to our community! I also enjoy supporting various fellow Mompreneurs by offering their products through our store,
Our Q & A with Angela
*What inspires you? 
I draw inspiration from many things including my friends and family, God, and fellow entrepreneurs that I admire.
*As a small business owner, what achievements make you most proud?
We are just wrapping up celebrating a milestone … 10 years in business!  I am really grateful to have reached the 10 year mark.  I am also very proud of all the work that has gone into creating our websiterunwayzboutique.com
Another thing that I truly enjoy is networking with other small businesses and hosting small business trade shows.  I truly enjoy helping others and am proud of the success of the shows that we have hosted.
*What advice would you give to other aspiring small business owners?
Be open to continual research and change to stay in the running
*What new things can we look forward to from your business in the upcoming year?
Some exciting new products in the areas of general giftware especially.
Follow us on twitter and like us on face book (as listed below) to stay in the loop!  We also have a newsletter sign up on our web page.
Like Angela’s page on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Runwayzboutique

Visit her website
http://runwayzboutique.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Small Business Woman of the Month · Tagged: Alberta, Angela Boschee, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, entrepreneur, gifts, Medicine Hat, Runwayz, small business

Jun 04 2016

3 Ways to Network This Summer

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Summer is fast approaching and as the days get longer and warmer entrepreneurs put their networking goals on hold.  Sadly many people think of networking as work and forget that a strong network is built through relationships not rules or business card quotas. Contrary to popular belief summer is a great time to get out there and strengthen your network. Here are three ways you can network this Summer:

Get in the game
Outdoor sports are extremely popular in the summer. Whether you’re a player or simply a fan get in the game by joining a sports team or attending a sporting event.  There are also some great charity sports events such as golf or volleyball tournaments that you can get involved in.  Sharing a common interest such as sports, brings people together and helps form better relationships.

Leverage your lunch break
The warmer summer weather is a great reason to be outside and an even better opportunity to invite a new connection out to lunch. Most people enjoy being out of the office during the warmer summer months and are more likely to accept a lunch invitation. The season also makes a lunch meeting more informal as you can opt for outdoor seating and enjoy your surroundings.

Attend some festivals
Summer is famous for its festivals. Attending a few summer festivals is a great way to learn about new music and different cultures. It also exposes you to many potential connections.  Most festivals are free and open to the public so it’s a cost effective way to enjoy the summer and build your network.

  Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Praveeni Perera · Tagged: business, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, entrepreneur, festivals, get in the game, lunch break, networking, popular, Praveeni Perera, Professional Edge Consulting, small business development, sports team, strengthen your network, summer, tournaments

May 07 2016

Networking – it isn’t just about you!

Sheralyn

Many have shared thoughtful insight and opinion on the topic of networking but here’s what sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Networking isn’t always all about you. It really isn’t. I teach emerging entrepreneurs about the benefits of networking and provide a “how to” on creating their own starter statement (most call this an elevator pitch) as a way to get the conversation flowing.  The reality is however, sometimes, the audience with whom you’re networking, just isn’t one you’ll ever do business with.  If that’s the case, should you still expend the effort? Heck yes!

Networking is in fact almost always about the referral.  It’s possible you will never have reason to do business with the financial representative you just met over coffee and unlikely you could buy from each of the lovely “Brand X” nutritional shakes or skin care reps you meet along your networking journey. But guess what? If you make a favorable impression on them or they on you, its entirely possible you might know someone else who is willing to do business with them and/or needs their product or service.  Because you took the time to have a great conversation, to network and get to know them, each of you are now more than willing to act as a referral source for the other. That’s how networking works.

Too often people go into these opportunities with a “what’s in it for me” attitude.  Recently, I was at an event where someone was selling a health food product with nuts in it.  I didn’t notice and when I asked if it was nut free she was quite sarcastic in her response. That’s not a person I want to do business with.  I made an honest mistake and I actually know two individuals who own and operate establishments where this person might have wanted to have her products featured. I did pass along the names of the establishments to her (I’m not that mean) but I certainly didn’t offer to act as a referral source because our networking conversation wasn’t a pleasant one.  I had no confidence in her product because I had no confidence in her.  It also meant I was unable to discuss my business with her so it was a missed opportunity for us both.

So yes you should still expend some effort even when the networking isn’t about you.  Think of the time spent as an opportunity to share your core values with the world. By sharing who you really are, not just what you do, you are sending a strong message to the world about what is important to you, how you do business with others and how you treat people. I don’t know about you, but knowing these kinds of things about a person is much more likely to encourage me to want to do business with them and I believe makes others more interested in potentially working with me.  Be the kind of referral you would like to get from others and meet others with the intention of acting as a great referral for them.  That’s what networking should be all about.

 

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Sheralyn Roman · Tagged: Brand X, business, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, conversation, entrepreneur, networking, not about you, referral, Sheralyn Roman, Writing Right For You

Apr 12 2016

The importance of using social media for networking

 

FB Pic

Social media has changed the way companies and people network themselves because now a days it isn’t about who you know, it’s about who knows you. Marketing yourself through social media has become the norm for businesses and thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter, interacting with your cliental couldn’t be more easy and beneficial.

 

  • Feedback: receiving supportive criticism could potentially impact your business in a more positive direction and help adjust your marketing strategy.
  • Constantly connected: social media provides you with the ability to view problems or concerns customers may have. In return this gives you the opportunity to respond and resolve these issues immediately.
  • Personal: social media to many can feel more like a personal connection and not just some business shoving out advertisement. Being able to read tweets or posts will give you the opportunity to learn what your clients have to say, which can become helpful advice in making improvements within your business.
  • Finding customers: using key word searches is a helpful way to find new clients. Using this tool will give you the opportunity to redirect them to your company’s personal website.
  • Connecting: join multiple groups through Facebook relating to your scope of work. Market yourself within theses groups by posting a link to redirect potential customers to your site; this will help create brand awareness.
  • Promote: media sites give you the chance to get your name out there. This can also help lead to clients recommending you to friends and family members through Facebook and helping create traffic to your website.
  • It’s free marketing: unfortunately we aren’t all rolling in money and have millions of dollars to blow on ad’s for our company. These media outlets are easy to use and manage, while giving you the opportunity to promoting yourself without any fee.

 

Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Canadian Small Business Women · Tagged: business, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, connected, entrepreneur, Facebook, feedback, key word searches, marketing, promote, small business development, social media

Mar 21 2016

Keeping it Consistent on Social Media

Kelly headshot (2)

With millions of people to reach online, spread over hundreds of Social Networks, how do you keep up engagement levels with your fan base for your small business? The simple answer is: consistency. The more consistent you are in posting, liking and commenting through your business profiles on social media, the easier it will be to break through all of the online noise with your message.

Finding Consistent Content

Quality content is the most important commodity in the online world today; it is also the most time consuming to create. Don’t worry – the good news is that you probably have more to share than you know of. Answer these questions to look for existing content in obvious places and as a starting point to help you to start thinking of what you can post, share and create:  

  • How many previous blogs, social media posts, videos or reviews can you repurpose?
  • Do you have daily/weekly sales or specials that you can share routinely?
  • Can you talk about any problems or concerns that your customers have that is relevant to your business?
  • Start thinking of your content as the voice of your business – What is your business passionate about?
  • If your business had an avatar, what would their personality be and how would their voice sound?

Posting Consistent Content

Once you have good content, it’s important to be posting it regularly. Social Networks function person-to-person, so be social! In order to be seen on busy social networks you have to be active, just like in real life. Posting content once a week just isn’t going to cut it. Ideally, brands need to be posting multiple things daily.

How does this work in practice? For example, if I have a daily special, then I might put a post about that special online each day at 8AM. If you publish a blog, make sure that you are posting that blog at the same time every week or month. Building around that single consistent daily post you can start to plan when (2-3x daily) and where (1-2 social networks) online you will share the rest of your content. Just don’t get so stuck on the plan that you don’t allow for any spontaneity in your posting!

Scheduling Consistent Content

Keeping up with this demand for visibility can be a huge challenge – content planning calendars are perfect for this. Using either a digital or paper planning calendar will help you to plan out what content you want to post, at what times and on what networks. It’s a good idea to stick to a basic posting schedule that allows for 2-3 posts daily.

Planning out 2-3 posts (or more) daily across multiple social networks can be a full-time job in itself (just ask me!), so busy businesses need to ensure they are not spending too much time each day thinking about planning their social media posts. You can save time by using apps like Buffer or Hootsuite to manage your social networking content calendars and pre-schedule posts for an entire week or month at a time. Additionally, there are many other Apps that work with specific platforms (ie. Tweetdeck for Twitter, Latergramme for Instagram, etc.) and Facebook has it’s own build in “schedule” for Facebook Business Pages. By pre-planning content, you can spend as little as 10 minutes a day online responding to comments and engaging with other brands.

The most important thing to remember is that an abandoned online presence is worse than no presence at all. You have real people waiting on the other end of “the internet” that want to hear what you are saying, so don’t let them down!

Teach Me Social owner Kelly Farrell has been helping empower Canadian Small Business owners through social media for over three years. Her team now offers services ranging from training sessions for small business owners and their teams, to full-service social media account management. Visit teachmesocial.ca to learn more about our service offerings or to contact us today for a no obligation consultation, including an audit of your existing social media channels.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kelly Farrell · Tagged: business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, consistent, content, content calendars, engaging, entrepreneur, networking, Networks, schedule, small business development, social, social channels, social network, Teach Me Social

Feb 11 2016

Give Your Audience an Experience They’ll Remember

CHuntly

We’re all familiar with the major stunts that brands have pulled off. Whether it’s a guy free-falling from the edge of the atmosphere, a horror scene in a coffee shop, or an elevator with a false floor, the one thing all of these stunts have in common is that they leave a lasting impression on anyone who experiences or sees them. These public stunts, also called brand activations or experiential marketing, can result in a huge bump in your brand awareness growth.

The good news is that you can create an amazing experience at any budget.

Here are 6 things to consider when you are building experiential marketing into your overall marketing strategy:

  1. Clearly define your objectives: This goes for any strategy you build, however, it’s very easy to get carried away when you are doing experiential marketing. When any new idea comes up, you always have to ask yourself how it relates to your strategic objectives and if it helps you reach your overall business goals. If the answer is no, then the idea should be off the table.
  2. Budget: This should come up whenever you discuss strategy. Most small businesses are limited when it comes to budget, but that doesn’t mean your strategy has to have a small impact. It just means you have to plan carefully within your budget.
  3. Concept: This is the thematic idea that will tie everything together. Your concept should represent your brand and its values. This is the overall story that you will pitch to media, and it will shape the activities that happen on the day of the activation.
  4. Connection: Remember that you are creating an experience, so you should tap into all of the senses and emotions that will resonate with your audience. The idea is that when people remember the experience, they immediately associate it with your brand. The first step is making the experience memorable. They need to feel a connection with your brand, so any activities you do should make sense for your brand.
  5. Cross-channel integration: Utilize all of the resources you have available. This means integrating social media, media relations, influencer relations, and content creation into your planning. The event shouldn’t just live in one place. Why not stream it live or have attendees upload photos to Instagram?
  6. Continuity: What happens beyond the day of the activation? Many brands forget that it takes more than one event to put your brand on the map. You might generate a lot of social media buzz and maybe some media coverage, but what next? You have to keep thinking of ways to keep your story fresh and encourage people to keep talking about you.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: 6 things to consider, audience, Brand Values, brands, Budget, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, Candace Huntly, coffee shop, concept, connection, continuity, cross-channel integration, define, entrepreneur, experience, marketing, objectives, Songbird Marketing Communications

Jan 29 2016

Simple Steps to Help You Achieve Your Goals This Year!

yvonne

 

Foremost on our minds at the start of a new year is making one type of change or other in order to help us achieve our goals; get better at something, be healthier, life or career goals, and more.

I’d like to introduce you the ADKAR by Prosci. ADKAR ​is most commonly used in organisations as a Change Management tool to manage change in business processes, technology etc. However, it can also be a fantastic tool to apply in personal change situations.

Here is one way we can apply ADKAR to Personal Change

Awareness – Start with recognising and being aware that your current situation needs to change i.e. your job or role, need to get healthier or lose weight, or improve your relationships.

Desire – Have a strong desire to want and see your goals become reality. By having a strong ‘why’ on your need to change, this becomes the motivation and driving force to create and maintain the momentum you need i.e. having a strong desire to increase your income so as to care for your family or pay-off your debts, or a need for strong inner or spiritual fulfillment, or job satisfaction

Knowledge – This requires equipping yourself with the knowledge and information needed to help you change and be successful with your desires and goals. i.e. attending career or health seminars, reading books or online blogs, networking event and communities

Ability – Building the skills and behaviours that will help you be successful with the desired change. i.e. attending training, receiving coaching, on-hands learning and practice

Reinforce – Create the right environment and support system to help you make the change stick and sustainable. i.e. join support groups, get an accountability partner, get a mentor, join professional associations

What are your strategies for personal change? Have you used the ADKAR approach or any other formal methodologies to implement personal change? Please share your personal experience and tips.

 

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help them implement the change they want and achieve their goals.

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on how to get the results you want, visit www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset

She can be reached at:  www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc  . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc . www.youtube.com/user/ChangeYouWantTV

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta · Tagged: ability, achieve, ADKAR, awareness, behaviours, blogs, business, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, change consultant, change management, coaching, debts, desire, entrepreneur, goals, health seminars, John Maxwell, John Maxwell Leadership Coach, knowledge, OliveBlue Inc, personal change, Prosci, reality, reinforce, skills, Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Jan 19 2016

It's That Time of Year Again

Amina

It’s that time of year again when we get inundated with messages about topping up our RRSP’s or investing for the long run for our retirement, but how do you choose what to invest in?

The markets are down, the dollar is down and according to the press it’s doom and gloom on the horizon. But how do you as a savvy investor, cut through the headlines to figure out what is the best bet for your dollars?

Experts (who are they?) will say buy when the markets are down and sell when they are high, but when you look at your statement and you haven’t seen a high in your returns for a long time, who do you trust? How do you know that the more money you invest, will promise the returns you want?

time to invest

Well looking from the other side, here are some options you can consider that don’t depend on the stock markets and whether you should buy now or not?

Real Estate – buying single family, multi-family, commercial (plaza’s, strip malls, apartment buildings, etc) in a buy & hold strategy, can provide you with monthly cash flow as well as long term appreciation. Even when markets are down, your property will always serve you well as long as you keep the following points in mind:

  • Buy in markets that have population growth, job growth, infrastructure growth and a diversity of industries to service that market;
  • Buy low and sell high – this is also true in real estate, but it is more dependent on figuring out whether your property will cash flow positively while also paying down the mortgage. It does not make sense to invest in a property if it is not going to provide long-term wealth or cash flow – cash is king to a buy & hold investor. Furthermore, if you decide to sell a few years down the road, make sure you have maximized your returns so when you sell you are not on the losing end – remember buy low and sell high!
  • Using your RRSP’s to invest in a property; I spoke of this in my last article. By investing Non-Arms’s Length, you invest in a property that is owned by another investor, stranger, etc. the distinction is they cannot be related to you by blood (see last article Making RRSP’s Or TFSA Work)

If you don’t fancy investing in bricks & mortar properties, you might want to consider investing in development through Syndicated Mortgages. Syndicated mortgages have quickly caught on amongst savvy investors as they get to choose from a variety of different asset classes (single family developments, commercial, condo’s and hotels to name a few) to invest in. With a minimum investment of $30,000 and a fixed return of 8% per annum, you can’t lose. Here are some other benefits:

  • By investing your existing RRSP’s, they are held in trust by Olympia Trust – one of Canada’s biggest and most respected trust companies and not by the syndicated company themselves;
  • Your RRSP’s are not affected by the markets and thus you will continue to get a fixed return of 8% per annum regardless of whether the market is up or down or the dollar is up or down;
  • You get to choose where your money is invested and you don’t have to pay fees to invest ever!

Even though I love Investing in Real Estate, I don’t put all my eggs in one basket so I also invest in Dividend paying stocks. “The best way for people to get a decent return these days is to have a good portion of that return come from reliable dividends versus less reliable capital gains,” says Bob Gorman, market strategist at TD Waterhouse. “This is going to be the era of the dividend growth stock.”

Here are some tips that make Dividend Investing a versatile investment:

  • I invest only in blue chip stocks (yes stocks) that provide a consistent flow of dividends for the last 10 years and only 1 or 2 from each asset class (Utilities, Communication, Tech, etc)
  • I invest in 1 stock and then purchase more through cash injections into my account, without paying fees ever;
  • Picking the right dividend stocks is key. Avoid companies with the highest yields, because that may indicate the dividend is likely to be cut, and the stock price will suffer as a result. Instead, choose reliable dividend-payers that can maintain those dividends even in bad times, while also growing them consistently over time. Look for well-managed, profitable companies in stable industries with good balance sheets and modest growth. They should also pay out only a reasonable proportion of profits.
  • Invest in Canadian Dividend stocks in non-registered accounts (such as a TFSA) but hold your US Dividend stocks inside your RRSP to protect from US withholding taxes of 15%.
  • Pick Dividend stocks that have medium yields but also beat the rate of inflation – many stocks today don’t provide adequate returns after you factor in fees; by self-directing your investments, you can omit fees and maximize on the return.

Regardless of how you decide to invest your hard-earned dollars keep in mind that in order to maximize your returns and your retirement goals, be careful of what you invest in, how much or little you pay in fees and your time horizon. All of these facts will help guide you on your path to investing your RRSP’s this year!

To your Wealth!

Amina

Please “like” my facebook page here Please follow me on twitter here

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Amina Mohamed · Tagged: Amina Mohamed, blue chip, Bob Gorman, business, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Dividend, Canadian Small Business Women, dividends, entrepreneur, investing, markets, Real Estate, rrsp, stock, syndicated mortgages, TD Waterhouse, TFSA, time to invest

Nov 29 2015

Investing In Syndicated Mortgages Vs. Rental Properties

Amina

Over the past few months I’ve penned a number of articles on this blog looking at the benefits of non-traditional ways to invest equity, namely syndicate mortgages. However, how do you really know when you should be investing equity in syndicate mortgage options, and when it might be best to invest in a more traditional buy and hold property?

Firstly then, any kind of investment needs to be accompanied by solid research. Syndicate mortgages for example, are shied away from sometimes due to perceptions of high risk and insecurity. However, in reality, 90% of people who invest in syndicate mortgages make stable 8-10% returns per annum. Often as well, they profit from 2-4% annual bonuses and 90% of syndicate mortgage investors actually decide to re-invest in syndicate mortgages in the future. The key quite simply, is to do your own research and make sure to have as knowledgeable as possible a mortgage agent on your side. Moreover, this is even more important for people who choose to invest in buy and hold property.

With buy and hold properties for example, risks initially brought to mind when thinking about investing, are associated primarily with property values being at the mercy of volatile financial markets. The ultimate nightmare scenario if you like, is that investment properties might depreciate in value. However, what investors often overlook is the fact that investment properties overall have an average annual vacancy rate of 5%. Likewise, regardless of whether an investment property is tenanted or not, investors are still looking at 8% annual property management and 8% additional maintenance costs.

The key of course is to secure investment properties in slightly under market areas, with low vacancy. Likewise, if you have a significant amount of equity available, why not diversify?

With minimum down payments on investment properties standing at just 20%, anyone with equity in their properties can potentially benefit from investing in a number of properties all at once, but also with the right deal, still being able to invest in various syndicate mortgage options.

In fact, what it comes down to in many cases when choosing between syndicate mortgages and investment properties, is how passive a return people are looking for on their respective investments. Where syndicate mortgages guarantee 8% annual returns for no actual labour, investment properties run 8% management costs which many people choose to offset by managing projects themselves.

As a professional mortgage agent, I don’t try to sell people financial products that are in my interest. I build my reputation on getting my clients the best possible deals suited to every one of them individually. If therefore, you presently have equity to invest, but aren’t sure of what might be best for your specific situation, give me a call today or contact me directly by clicking here and let’s start talking about what the best investment strategy for you might be.

To your Wealth!

Amina

Please “like” my facebook page here Please follow me on twitter here

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Amina Mohamed · Tagged: Amina Mohamed, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, entrepreneur, equity, financial markets, invest, investment property, mortgage, mortgage broker, property, property management, syndicate morgage

Oct 07 2015

Creating Creativity on Demand

Sheralyn

It’s hard to be creative on demand and planning creative time is almost an oxymoron. How do you plan WHEN to be creative?  Sure a deadline can be a great motivator but getting creative on a timeframe is often a challenge. Many artistic people will talk about “when inspiration strikes” or about waking bolt upright in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. But how do you manage being creative when you’ve only a limited amount of time in your schedule? How do you create creativity?

Your medium (whether it be art, music, the written word, website design or creating great advertising copy) and the team that surrounds you (or lack of team if you’re a solopreneur) will influence how you go about flipping the creative switch to “ON.”  Today, you can troll the Internet for inspiration and certainly you can look inwardly for significant events that might be turned into working material. Blogging for a consortium of dental professionals I was able to turn a recent uninsured $1350.00 dental bill into two separate blogs: one on how to negotiate the financing of treatment costs and the other concerning the various pain management techniques used during dental procedures. So, writing from life experience is one way to get the creative juices flowing, especially if you’re alone in running your business. If you’re part of a team however, you have the luxury of huddling with them behind closed doors – engaging in “free-thinking” or “thought-shower” sessions – talk about generating creative energy!

With either method, creativity, like almost anything else, requires work. You need to put the effort in to get the end product out. You need to invest time, you need to fuel your mind, body and soul appropriately and you need to practice it like you practice any other skill. That might mean that while your “brainwave” struck at 3am, you need to work at the process of refining your great idea during regular business hours.  When working, you also need to ensure you are properly rested, adequately hydrated and running on a “full tank.” Sound familiar? Whether you are an athlete or in advertising, you’re still a human being and we work best when we take the best possible care of ourselves. It may sound simple but it’s also true. It’s hard to be creative when the tank is running on empty!

How often have you heard “Practice, practice, practice?” One of the best methods for encouraging “spontaneous” creativity and improving your creative potential is to do EVEN MORE WRITING.  Take note of every idea you have and jot them down. You can always review each one later to flesh them out and see if they’ve got “legs.” Not every idea will have merit and some should die a natural death. However, that idea you typed into “Notes” on your iphone when you saw a trucker pull his air horn for a bunch of school kids? You might well turn it into a humorous “Back to School” article about the iconic things kids like to do while riding the school bus.  Whether you use pen and paper or an electronic format, keep some form of ongoing diary or recording of your many ideas and one day, when your stuck for inspiration, a search through one of your “old” notes might prove fruitful.

The idea of being creative can be particularly hard on the entrepreneur who wears multiple hats while supporting their business.  If you’re multi-tasking, coming up with good ad copy, blog material or website content might seem daunting. My simple suggestion here is to “write what you know.” Throw everything you know about your product or service at the screen and once all the words are there you can start the process of weeding out what you don’t need and playing around creatively with what you choose to keep. It’s a bit like planting a garden: you sketch the plan, dig out the border, plant, tend and water and then – you occasionally have to pull out some weeds. It’s work and it might take some time to see the results of your creativity. So you can create creativity, it just takes a little planning, a lot of tending and some careful culling.

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Sheralyn Roman · Tagged: artistic, blogging, business, Business Woman, Canadian Small Business Women, challenge, creating, creative juices, creativity, motivator, multi tasking, planning creative, practice, Sheralyn Roman, solopreneur, spontaneous, take notes, Writing Right For You

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