It's true, the recession has been harder on self-employed...
February 5, 2012
It's true, the recession has been harder on self-employed...
What does that yellow light mean?
Slow down and find out. Molly Gordon explains how, in this excellent blog.
another excellent blog from Molly Gordon, good fairy for accidental entrepreneurs. Every little thing really does matter: how you feel impacts how your customers feel doing business with you. The latter, as it turns out, is the biggest driver in customers' choices
Authentic Promotion® is written for independent professionals and creative artists who are reconciling the challenge of building thriving businesses with the commitment to living full and balanced lives. Each week you'll receive priceless guidance about marketing and promoting your work, links to tried-and-true resources, and practices that will help you dissolve the obstacles to your success.
An excellent blog showing how re-thinking your fees can make clients feel better-served while boosting your revenues
Good summary of how to make your outgoing marketing more valuable by gathering information every time
A no-nonsense guide from a successful blogger
Some very good points - with humor - from IttyBiz about targetting your business.
Worth your time - the power of simple rigor for a small business
A good tack at building credibility and making it easier for customers to be safe doig business with you
A fun example of how to distinguish your business
An excellent down-to-earth look about what it takes to be part of a healthy economy
Good post on how to avoid a freelancer's nightmare of losing important contacts and other data
This is a good guide for how a small business can use an event to build its community: its client and referral network.
Marsha's note: make sure that the event focuses peoples' attention on the question that your business solves. eg if you're a realtor considering an event, don't just do wine tasting in a local restaurant to show appreciation. Consider having the event in a home you've recently sold that's represents a good deal and a good investment - to whet peoples' appetites for real estate - and make sure that every aspect of the event has your personal touch, starting with the invitation.
Reviews a book that will be relevant to many providers of quality services. There is a way for introverts to market themselves and feel authentic!
An excellent piece by Molly Gordon from Shaboom, Inc
From Copyblogger, the master, an excellent post about how to cut through the nonsense and reach Customers where it counts
A very useful post from Small Business Trends
From Guerrilla Freelancing, a good post to digest whether you're thinking about freelancinbg or already into it
So many people get stopped with this question. The real question is, "What do I want to make happen for folks I care about..."
A straightforward action list for buildoing your identity
Excellent tactics for Solopreneurs and MicroBiz
Fine post from Copyblogger about the advantages of being small and how to leverage them
Another excellent post from Copyblogger, focusing on simplifying your landing page. Ensure that your central promise is clear, that a visitor can grasp it in 5 seconds or less, and that your visuals help drive it home.
Another great tip from Copyblogger: how to get people to read your stuff
In answer to a question I hear frequently, here is a good summary of how to use your time well on social media
and differentiate your services while you're at it. An excellent strategy
Another very helpful post from Mark Silver's Heart of Business. In this age when so much is digital, the ability to connect via the written word is ever more important
One of many excellent posts from Economist, this one is a great reminder. Customers vote with their feet - and they're very savvy. The clarion call is for excellence.
A very good point: distinguish yourself from endless Telemarketing by talking about the prospect and not about your products and services.
If you don't know enough about the prospect to do that, you're not ready to make the call.
Another excellent post from copyblogger: specifics of how to make your landing page serve you better
An excellent post on how to rev up your business development practices.
From one of the data gurus, this straightforward blog about targetting your audience is not to be missed.
This immovable principle can be especially challenging for service providers, as we're often experts in our field. We can often see what's missing for customers - what can get them more of what they want. But if we don't know how to make it show up in their model of reality, we won't be able to sell it.
From The Wealthy Freelancer, a strong approach to fees and value
The post reveals one of the common traps of Small Business owner/operators, and illustrates how getting the right help can improve your bottom line.
This excellent, straightforward post from Mark Silver reveals the simple steps that it takes to move from wondering where the next project may come from to building a real Micro Business
Excellent post from The Small Company Blog
A solid look - fairly quick - at how to become more savvy about your business's financial ground
From a new New York Times blog targetted to small business, written by a veteran, "...small businesses are widely misunderstood."
Another delightful blog from Mark Silver - a genuine teacher - who quickly gets down to what makes a difference for micro businesses
Very useful post by Copyblogger - one of the most successful bloggers on the net
An elegant post emphasizing that it's our time to grow.
While I don't often taut categorizing people, this post can be helpful The categoies can help you identifywhat you want from Freelancing - the better to achieve it.
Freelance Switch offers lots of good info, plus a brokerage service for independents.
This post pulls "from Websites and blogs to books and online courses, highlights 40 places where small businesses and entrepreneurs can learn more -- without investing in an MBA."
A popular blogger and marketing maverick, Seth Godin's posts are often punchy and illuminating. This is an especially good one for sole proprietors and small businesses:
"If you want to grow the size of your customer base, you need to confront the buffet dilemma."
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