Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Four Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

Praveeni

Being an entrepreneur is a challenging and rewarding experience but it’s not without its pitfalls. Although a business idea may seem profitable  it may not always be the case and in business as in life failure (along with success) is inevitable. Everyone makes mistakes but it doesn’t mean success won’t come your way eventually, here’s a quick look at the 4 most common mistakes entrepreneurs make:

  1. Overvaluing their product/company
    Most businesses start off with funding in the way of a business loan or investors. Although there are many sources for investment, funding may be hard to come by if you’ve over valued your company. If you’ve ever watched the show Dragons Den you’ll find that many entrepreneurs do this,; not maliciously but because they believe so strongly in their product or idea that they fail to see it’s realistic value.
  1. Overly diversifying product offering
    As a new business owner it’s easy to get caught up in expanding your product offering as your business grows. Though it’s good to provide a range of choices, overly diversifying business services or products can lead to dilution of your company’s mission and vision. It’s important to take a step back and look at why you started in the first place. In most cases a few key products will drive sales and increase business, instead of offering new products work on improving the ones that are profitable.

 

  1. Calling themselves “experts”

The term “expert” gets thrown around way too often in the business world. These days everyone’s an expert at                    something, or so they say. Some may argue that marketing yourself as an expert gives clients the impression that no          one else can provide the same level of service.  However labeling yourself as an expert can limit your ability to learn            and grow as an entrepreneur. The key is never to be the smartest person in the room; this doesn’t mean downplay              your knowledge but rather be open to increase your knowledge base.

     4. Spending marketing dollars too early

Marketing is tricky as it can help increase and decrease sales. Many entrepreneurs end up spending too much money         on marketing campaigns that have no goal or focus and thus do not result in profitable returns. Simply building brand           awareness is not enough. In order to build awareness you must first build a brand, and this can only be achieved                 through clients and sales. Although it’s tempting to run ads or start accounts on all the latest social media channels               first focus on building a clientele, without clients you have no brand.

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.

Leadership Opportunities

 

Sheralyn

Much has been made recently about two excellent books, “Thrive” and “Lean In,” both written by successful female leaders.  Each highlights in a different way, the importance and value of the role women can and should play in the corporate world.  Regardless of your career choice, women should collectively draw strength and inspiration from these books but it can sometimes be hard to parlay the experiences of a corporate executive into that of a SOHO entrepreneur.  How for example, do we seize opportunities to develop our leadership style, to “lean in” at the table when we have only our dog for company as we work diligently away in our home office?  How do we engage in the “third metric” looking after ourselves, our own health and planning for giving back to our communities when it seems we need every hour of every day just to keep our small business afloat? It might be challenging but leadership opportunities exist where leadership opportunities are sought. In other words, find them! Here’s how you can both “lean in” and “thrive” even while operating your SOHO business.

The first thing you need to do, for the sake of your business and your ability to learn, practice and engage in leadership style behaviours, is join your local Chamber of Commerce or Board of Trade.  Typically, fees for doing so are nominal and the benefit exponential.  Not only are you opening the doors of your business to potential customers and referral networking opportunities but you are also affiliating yourself with a known and respected entity in the community.  This official office might also help lend an air of authenticity to your business.  Once a member, it’s up to you to lean in and seize opportunities to become further involved, perhaps by taking on a leadership role in the governing body of the organization or by volunteering for speaking engagements or trade shows where presentations and public speaking may be required. This will provide you with plenty of opportunities to enhance your skills in these areas and to make new contacts and develop new relationships.  Personal growth and business growth will both result from these experiences and each, in turn, provides you with the tools to learn and grow your leadership skills.

While time remains the enemy of us all, with a bit of planning and a little dose of ingenuity and foresight, take on a voluntary role with a community social service agency.  Join the Board of an organization or charity that you already support and believe in or leverage your current business skills and link with an agency that mirrors the type of service your business offers and requires someone with your expertise. These volunteer positions represent networking opportunities, a chance to enhance and grow your personal leadership skill sets and you will be doing a good thing, engaging in your community. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Many towns and cities also have Small Business Enterprise Centres and these offices often look for Guest Speakers and Experts in the field to come in and provide one hour seminars to program participants.  Again, this is another fantastic way to reach out, share your expertise and learn public speaking skills while engaging in a leadership role. Often these programs are geared to new immigrants and/or young entrepreneurs just starting out who are looking for mentors and the type of sage business advice you have to offer.

Consider your skill sets and what you can give back. How can you package your experiences into an opportunity that benefits both you and your business? There is nothing wrong with offering your services to community organizations in a way that also enhances your business profile. If you need practice with public speaking Toastmasters is an excellent way to learn confidence, speaking skills and further develop your leadership abilities. Give each of these suggestions some serious consideration.  By leaning in, getting involved in your community and taking on a leadership role you will help foster your own personal and professional growth.  Watch your business thrive as a result and Rover will no longer be your only companion in the office!

 

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

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Marketing Your Business On-Line: Take It From The Pros!

MVR_profile-pic.2_Nov2012_-_Copy

One of the biggest challenges for most new, and even many established businesses, is reaching and maintaining positive cash-flow. Start-ups are reminded at every step of the way that, “the first two years are the hardest”. And indeed they are. Naturally, then, we use as many free systems, services, and templates as we can and apply our own self-taught skills.

Because of that, I deeply value affordable, local workshops and seminars from experts. This summer, I attended several that focused on online marketing skills. Since each of them emphasised their information was non-proprietary and we should share it, I thought I would.

E-mail Marketing

Callan Rush (www.callanrush.com), an American sales and marketing expert, whose 3-hour seminar was like a motivational speech, has three keywords for business owners on how to get and keep customers: Magnetise, Mesmerise, and Monetise.

Rush advises to use social media and ads etc. to magnetise your audience with interesting headlines, desirable content, and using the medium best suited for your intended audience. People want to be wowed, so you need to provide them with something interesting (mesmerise) that will draw them to your business (monetise).

According to a survey by Communicare, 70% of respondents say that poorly written communications make them less productive. (http://bit.ly/13LCxoq)

Rush suggests 5 key steps avoid falling in that category:

  1. Make It Into Their Inbox. Use an Internet service provider with good deliverability to avoid ending up in spam folders.
  2. Get Readers To Open Your Message. Write a hot subject line by using an:

a)      Enrolling question: “Do you want to double your client base overnight?”. Who would say no to that?

b)      Incomplete sentence:  Our brain hates them! E.g. “Did you know 70% of biz owners don’t know ….?”.

c)      Curiosity statement: Something that creates intrigue.

d)      Numbered Sequenced Subject Line: e.g. “The Top 5 Marketing Mistakes”.

        3. Check Your “From” Line. Your e-mail address should contain your personal name.

        4. Read. Keep your message short, conversational, and to the point. Don’t write “Dear All” – make the reader feel addressed personally.

        5. Clicks. Include a ‘click-through’ button that leads to your registration/purchase site, or website.

 

Various free software programs allow you to create slick e-mails and newsletters, with click-through buttons, and can track statistics, e.g. Aweber, MailChimp, and Constant Contact to name a few.

Social Media Marketing

According to Javed S. Khan of Empression (http://empression.ca), who presented at an (incredibly early!) breakfast networking meeting of the BNI Success Network in Scarborough, you need to make use of other free marketing tools as well. Khan says that good marketing is about eliciting a measurable response, e.g. a reader “Liking” your social media page, registering for something, or phoning you. Set measurable goals for your social media marketing, for example to reach X number of new clients, or to fill your next workshop. Additional tips for saving you time, while magnetising and mesmerising your audience:

  • Include “social share buttons” so readers can directly reach your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn page etc.
  • Repurpose campaigns: Use the longer version of your writ for a blog or an article, then a shorter version for your Facebook post, and a 140 character tease as your next tweet.
  • Use photos.
  • Don’t feel you need to be an expert on everything you share, just surround yourself with, or read and learn from experts. That’s what Oprah does!
  • Use your e-campaigns not only to share content but also for thank you and happy holiday notes.

 

In case you were wondering how to even build a list of recipients for your e-campaigns, Lisa Kember, (gethyperactive.com) who spoke about Constant Contact at the big Summer Networking Bash at Ontario Place, recommends offering a prize draw or a free service to your existing network and through social media to obtain more names for your list.

She also suggests not hard-selling your business but yourself and your story. Kember points out that it is your attitude and your credibility that leads to your prospects’ confidence in you, your product or service. It is about showing you’re authentic. We are all human after all.

 

 Martina Rowley is the founder and operator of Beach Business Hub – THE coworking space east of the Don Valley. She combined her passion and experience in the environmental sector with her community engagement side to create a local work environment where space and resources are shared. She fosters and facilitates collaboration, networking, and learning for and with small business owners and new startups.  Contact her at:http://www.beachbusinesshub.ca, on Facebook and on Twitter