5 ways to step up your online business without getting credit

I’m always happy when I see new entrepreneurs spring up. It’s nice to know many people realize having a business is the way to go. Working at a 9 to 5 job does not work for many, and no matter how hard you work you may never derive true satisfaction from it.

Of course there will be ups and downs. I’ve personally gone through many issues whilst running my own business. Sometimes you’ll come across circumstances where you will not have enough funds to keep your business afloat. In such a situation you need to act fast and boost your business before it hits rock bottom.

 

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If you’re in such a situation, don’t worry. I have a solution. Here are 5 ways you can step up your online business without getting credit.

 

  1. Pitch like your life depends on it

If you want to step up your business you need to make sure that you are making sales. Whether you have products to sell or you offer services, you need to constantly pitch your product or service to others.

Many people are afraid of pitching and in the light of the recent events, I don’t blame them. They don’t want to appear pushy or annoying when they pitch so they step back and hope that someone will come along. But it may take forever for that to happen, so I like to take matters into my own hands, and pitch to carefully selected companies.

Those who do really well in their businesses are those who are not afraid to pitch their products and services.

 

  1. Focus on giving value

Although it’s important for you to pitch your products and services, you also need to realize that there is a right and wrong way of doing it. Most people take the route of being like door-to-door salesmen focusing only on what they will gain. You can only boost your business when your primary focus is on giving value.

Tell your potential clients how your products and services can help them. Make it more about them and less about you. Show them how it will add value to their lives. This doesn’t work only for sales. Giving value could come in so many forms. The idea is to ensure that you are helping your clients and that you genuinely care about their business.

 

  1. Collaborate with bigger players in your niche

There are business owners in your niche who are doing better than you. Think of ways the two of you can partner in a project or create a product together. This will help foster mutual growth in both your businesses. Through the collaboration, you not only get increased patronage you also get additional publicity.

 

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  1. Promote your online business

There are several platforms where you can be featured to draw more attention to your brand. When nobody knows who you are, it becomes even more difficult to sell what you offer.

Write blog posts in major publications so that more people can get to know you. Big publications have a large readership that will give you the needed exposure. Speaking engagements are another way to showcase yourself and your expertise. Which will help you build an audience interested in your products and services.

 

  1. Network

I can’t begin to express how helpful networking has been for me and my business. Networking helps you establish new relationships with people who may be interested in what you offer. Networking helps create more opportunities for you to increase your exposure, which will bring in more business in time.

 

These are 5 ways to step up your online business without getting credit. It does take time for these actions to result into paid work, but they are tried and tested ways that work.

Do you have any tried and tested tip to share? Please do so in the comments section.

My Purpose for Fashion and Style Police Blog

Before I dive into My Purpose for Fashion and Style Police Blog, let me explain how I got to the point of writing this post.

I read books a lot and I love reading. My goal for this year is to read a book a week. This was the same goal I had last year and I almost smashed it. So I am hoping I smash it completely this 2018. I am currently reading The Mindful Entrepreneur:How to rapidly grow your business while staying sane, focused and fulfilled by Howard Finger and Aryeh Goldman on my Kindle. And I am really learning a lot. It is a very easy to read self-help non fiction book but it is written in a fiction way, if that makes any sense.

 

 

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I got this book for 99p and it is the best 99p I have spent so far this year. It is literally speaking to me and I am so glad I found this book. I have made some silly decisions lately; buying books with great samples only to realise it was a complete waste of my time and money. Most times I struggle to finish reading such book and just abandon it halfway but not this book. I am soaking the wise words from Howard Finger and Aryeh Goldman, and implementing the information into my business.

The Mindful Entrepreneur book has made me think deeply outside the box. It has opened my eyes to how to discover my deep purpose for Fashion and Style Police Blog by answering 4 Why questions.  I found the exercise some educative and I know I will be learning a lot from this book.

 

 

 

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My Purpose for Fashion and Style Police Blog
  1. Why do I write on Fashion and Style Police Blog? I write to provide quality fashion, beauty and lifestyle articles.
  2. Why should anyone read my blog? Because I write quality articles that will educate and entertain my readers.
  3. Why would my blog posts entertain or educate anyone? My blog posts entertain and educate because they will make my readers feel good and feel like they have learnt something new after reading my posts.
  4. Why would the blog readers feel good and like they have learnt something new? My blog readers will spend wisely on products and services that would best serve them. They will also be informed on how best to use these products and services. These readers will eventually save money and time that would have been spent shopping around for products and services that would not work for them.

 

These answers have led me to the summary of my business purpose for the blog, which is to save money and time. And that valuable purpose makes me feel so good.

 

I urge every business owner to try this exercise. It makes you think deeply outside the box for the right answers. And it should work for every business because every business needs a meaningful purpose to succeed. For you to be a successful blogger/business owner, you and your staff must be focused on fulfilling a valuable purpose for your customers.

Do try this exercise and let me know how you get on.

 

 

 

6 Ways to Work Smart and Not Hard as a Business Owner

As an owner of a growing business, it is important to make sure that your productivity levels are always on top. Of course, it is every business owner’s dream to run a business that gets a lot of projects and gigs. But with more work comes a strong need to get the work done quickly and efficiently so that you will have more time to focus on other important things in your life. So how do you work smart?

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Most people believe that a business is successful because you put in a lot of hard work. Although this may be true, people have mistaken “busy” or being “occupied” as working hard.  The truth is that you get more work done when you work smarter and not harder.  Here are 6 ways you can achieve more by working smarter and not harder.

Plan everything in advance

This has been something that has helped me in my business. I plan everything! From all my activities for the day, what I wear, the content I put out on social media and on my blog to even the pictures I’ll use for the articles, several days in advance.

I make weekly, monthly, and quarterly plans and goals. Planning in advance works as a guide to help you know what to do next. It saves you time and keeps you focused on getting the work done. If you like, you can make use of software to help you plan more effectively.

Build an efficient and trusted team

There is only so much one person can handle. That is why it is important for a business owner to have an efficient and trusted set of team members to whom he or she can delegate work. Your team members will help you do the work while you gain time to work on something else. When you have a formidable team, you can rest easy knowing that everything will be done to precision with a lot of care. Software such as Qualtrics can empower employees to own their development and learning, with feedback and personalized reports, helping to build the team further.

Get organized

I think one of the things that are a hindrance to a smooth-running and efficient business is a lack of organization. When you have all the information, stationery, or data you will need organized, it makes working easy. You save time that would have been spent looking for something you need or being worried about not finding what you’re looking for. The workflow is swifter when your office is organized and everything you need is within your reach. If you are looking to organize your work a bit better, try this scheduling software to improve efficiency and time management.

Time yourself

This is a pretty useful hack to help you work smarter. Although not many people like deadlines in their 9-to-5s, having a deadline will help you be more focused on only what is important and thus, make you work smarter.

Keep a timer close by whenever you want to start working. Try to finish each project within 45 minutes. This will help you push away all distractions. As you get used to having work done within 45 minutes, you can reduce the time allocated to 30 minutes and work accordingly. This way you train yourself to work faster and more efficiently.

Stop being a perfectionist

There have been debates about the pros and cons of perfectionism in business, but when it comes to working smart perfectionism loses. When you want to get everything perfect the first time you end up spending a lot of time bothering about insignificant details and you either don’t get the work done or you are unable to start at all.

To work smart, your main preoccupation is to have work done. Perfection and attention to detail can come at the end. For now, you have to focus on completing each task. You can always tweak it along the way when you’re done.

Automate

Thanks to automation tools, you can get your work done for you with one click. So if you create your content in advance, your automation tool can help you publish your content on your blog and on social media all by itself. This is what I do when I want to schedule all my posts for the week.

How do you work smart? Please share your tips in the comments section below.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!

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