Tag: small business

About Last Week’s Rookie Mistake

Posted on by Amanda Bedell

Last week, I inadvertently sent my weekly email to myself instead of addressing it to the people on my email list. It was an oversight from my adaptation to a new CRM, and I deeply regretted it as it caused confusion and seemed unprofessional.

The funny thing, and I think you’ll relate to this, is my assistant texted me the minute she saw it and promptly said, “Why don’t you have me handle these emails?!” It’s a valid point, and I could come up with countless excuses, but the truth is, I’m deeply committed to personally writing you each week, ensuring timely and relevant topics are addressed. However, there’s often little time between my desire to communicate with you and when I finish writing.

As entrepreneurs, we tend to hold onto tasks, many of which, in retrospect, seem insignificant after a major mistake occurs.

This reminds me of a lesson I learned from my bakery business when I hired my first general manager. I used to come in around 9:30-10am, wash my hands, grab a cup of coffee from behind the counter, put on my gloves and then proceed to rearrange the display, adding pastries here and there to make it look fuller. This went on for months until the GM pulled me aside and asked, “Why do you rearrange the display when you come in?”… I replied, “To make it look more full.”… She responded, “After you’re done, it doesn’t look that different, and when you do that it undermines the work of the staff.”

That conversation was truly eye-opening for me. I realized that I didn’t want my actions to undermine the efforts of my staff, even though I disagreed with how the display looked after they handled it. From that enlightening discussion, we delved into my vision and the importance of a display that appeared abundantly stocked (as a person with Celiac, I understand the disappointment of seeing limited options). We explored the psychology of customers and their purchasing behavior. Together, we established parameters and designed a daily display plan, allowing me to let go of micromanaging.

So, while I won’t stop personally writing about timely topics that I believe will alleviate the chaos of running a business and bring you closer to profit and tranquility, I have decided to give my assistant the time to execute the email with her remarkable attention to detail and organizational skills.

Now, let’s turn this on you and your business. What tasks are you doing that someone else could do better? If you don’t know, start with my Time Audit sheet >>

Let me know what you discover!

 

Remember,

✨Rome wasn’t built in a day.

✨Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he had “no good ideas”.

✨Abraham Lincoln lost eighteen elections before finally becoming president.

✨Thomas Edison endured 10,000 unsuccessful attempts before perfecting the incandescent light bulb.

And, there isn’t a record of a successful company history that was ever built by a single person.

Until our next communication, remember I’m only an email, text, DM, or phone call away.

Dedicated to your success!
Amanda

 

P.S.: I’m beta testing a new product, Flash Coaching, a unique, streamlined system designed with a busy schedule in mind. It’s a blend of self-paced learning (powered by a series of targeted videos you watch at your leisure) and unlimited high-impact 15-minute coaching sessions. This is a perfect way to dip your toe into what it would be like to have a business coach on your side. Intrigued? Let’s connect >>

Five Marketing Pitfalls to Avoid When Planning Your Digital Marketing for 2023

Posted on by Amanda Bedell

Do you feel like marketing is a mystical creature that some people have seen, but every time you try to find it, it doesn’t show up for you?

Many small business owners feel this way because no matter how hard they try, or how much money they spend, marketing doesn’t work for them.

Unfortunately, this is compounded by the availability of not-so-good marketing advice, especially when you’re a newbie or not familiar with how SEO works.

 

Digital Marketing Basics to Know

There are basics of digital marketing you’ll want to understand before you jump into planning your marketing for the year. First, you’ll want to list your digital marketing assets, such as your website, blog, email list, and social media platforms. Next, you’ll want to create a digital marketing planner to map out what you will do for the month and year. Then you need to create content pillars or themes you’re going to talk about for the month ahead.

 

Avoid the Marketing Pitfalls

Especially if you’re new to entrepreneurship or digital marketing, you’ll want to avoid marketing pitfalls to skip wasting time and effort on marketing tactics that won’t work. Here are the five biggest marketing mistakes you’ll want to avoid in 2023.

 

Marketing Pitfall #1: Forgetting Set Goals for Your Business

You’ll want to establish a goal first before you start marketing. Depending on your niche and lane, your goal could be client or product oriented. You may also have a sales goal. Whatever your profession, think of a relatively easy goal to achieve and write it down. Make sure your goal has a due date. If your goal is big, break your bigger goal down into micro-goals, so you have smaller checkpoints along the way to see if you’re on track to reaching your goal. If you’re not, you can scale back or decide to take a different marketing route to achieve your goal.

 

Marketing Pitfall #2: Marketing without a Plan

Many people will randomly post on Instagram, create a blog, or send out email marketing without any type of plan. Without a plan, you’re basically throwing mud against a wall, hoping it will stick. You want to create a plan with a theme for your monthly marketing, even if it’s simple. Make all your digital marketing content around that theme so you can track your data and see what’s working.

 

Marketing Pitfall #3: Assuming the Needs of Your Ideal Client or Customer

You may assume you know what your customer wants, but is it true? The only way to find out for sure is to create a survey asking your potential clients and leads what their biggest pain points are for them in their business. Then you can formulate a plan to help solve what they need.

 

Marketing Pitfall #4: Using Social Media to Sell

While social media platforms are a great way to showcase your products, your team, you, and your company culture, you’ll rarely sell your products on social media unless you’re specifically running an ad. Instead, use social media to familiarize your clients with your products, how they can solve their pain points, and show your brand personality so they make an emotional connection to you and your business.

 

Marketing Pitfall #5: Failing to Use Email Marketing

Email marketing, although it’s been around for a long time, is still the best way to market to your fans and leads. While email marketing is very popular, it’s also one of the few ways you can get your client’s undivided attention. First, showcase your products or services, educate your avatar, and include a freebie to download to show your appreciation. Then, make sure you choose a platform, such as Convertkit, to upload your clients’ emails and start sending them emails regularly.

 

When planning your marketing, and you want to be successful, make sure to avoid these marketing pitfalls. Then, think through your marketing for 2023 and devise a plan that makes your marketing a big success!

 

McMinnville Business Mastery Lunch & Learn

Posted on by Amanda Bedell

EVER FELT LIKE MARKETING, STAFFING, AND GROWING YOUR BUSINESS WAS LIKE NAVIGATING A DIFFICULT MAZE?

What if you could follow a proven and time-tested roadmap that provides you the EXACT steps to more cash flow and freedom?

At my Business Mastery Lunch & Learn events, join area business owners as we tackle the business challenges of the day. In each session, walk away with no-cost strategies that can be implemented immediately.

Lunch and beverages are provided but registration is required.

To register for an upcoming event, click on the date you want to attend:

January 25 – Topic: Finding & Keeping Employees

(POSTPONED) February 8 – Topic: Position Your Business for a Bank Loan

February 22 – Topic: Exit Your Way – Grow with the Exit In Mind

March 8 – Topic: Pricing Workshop (details coming soon)

March 22 – Topic: No Cost Conversions & Sales Strategies (details coming soon)

Past events included Non-traditional Ways to Find & Keep Superstar Employees, No-cost Lead Generation Strategies, Increase Conversions and Sales With Small Tweaks, and more!

What these events aren’t:

NOT a disguised sales pitch

NOT a boring presentation about buying ads that don’t result in new customers anyways

NOT a place for me to listen to my own voice for a whole 90-minutes 🙂

 

What you will get is:

REAL strategies that you can implement yourself

INSPIRATION that can only come from being in a room with like-minded business owners doing the same work at the same time

The PEACE OF MIND knowing that you’re focusing on the business activities that really make a difference so you can work smarter rather than harder.