Goals setting – #bossLadyBlooms

Three Ways to Stay Up When Sales are Down.

I’m sure everyone has read somewhere lately the harsh question “Is your business inflation proof?” This question has appeared on most entrepreneur and small business magazines, websites and all over social media. And the answer is a resounding NO!

No business is inflation proof. There is no such thing. With the increase in prices on everything from meat to milk, from travel tickets to gas, no….we are not inflation proof.

But let’s discuss how to keep your small business in the black when the economy around us goes haywire.

Emergency fund

Rainy day fund, emergency fund, separate savings account; whatever you decide to call it, every small business owner should have one. This set aside money should be specifically for your small business emergencies, and it would be unrealistic to think that there will never be a time that a crisis will arise. This money can be used to order supplies, pay your employees, or to pay business related bills. As tempting as it is to have this extra money, it should only be used to save your business.

Cut down on expenses

Business expenses are part of the small business world. You will have to by more products, pay for advertising, and so on and so forth. Cutting down as much as possible when the money coming in is less can make or break a small business. Start by searching for the best bargain when buying products. Even if you have bought products from the same manufacture for years, if they are not the lowest price for the quality, you should look to changing who you buy from. Marketing can sometimes be the most expensive service you pay for. You may find that one way to limit your spending for it is to regurgitate some older ads or marketing strategies. Find the ones that worked in the past and reuse them. You would be in good company. Have you seen the commercials on tv lately ? At least 40% of them are from the past.

Sales and Discounts

Having a sale is always a good idea, even when things are good. Sales get old customers buying and new customers in. You don’t have to always put your entire inventory on sale. Mark down the price of certain well liked items or services for a certain amount of time. Offer coupons for a percentage off their next purchase, to get the customers coming to you again. I’m not talking about giving away the store here, just a small decline to get customers buying your product or service.

Plan ahead

The absolute best advice I’ve ever received pertaining to my small business is to plan for the worst and work for the best. Have a plan for when things go south and when money is tight. Plan it out and document it. Share that plan with your employees so that everyone is on the same page when the plan needs to be put into effect.

In conclusion, small businesses will fluctuate. You may go from making 6-figures one month to making $6 the next. You will have to stay motivated and keep moving forward for your business to work. The bottom line is don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes to keep your business afloat.

Until Next time, wishing you all the best in your business.

Come out and network with other small businesses

Why you should add an eBook to your business.

EBooks are all the rave right now. People are creating ebooks with recipes, how to manuals, children’s books and the list could go on. What that tells me is that ebooks must be going well and must be helping people reach more people.

What is an ebook?

An ebook is text presented in a format which allows it to be read on a computer or handheld device. Simple put, its read on a screen rather than from book cover to cover. Ebooks are made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices as defined by Wikipedia.

Why are eBooks important to your business

Marketing

For most service based businesses, ebooks can help explain what your so. Businesses can cover specific topics in great detail with eBooks. Creating eBooks is the best technique to improve the depth of your content marketing plan. If your information is delivered in the form of an eBook that they can download and read whenever they have free time, your target audience will consume more content.

Grow your email list

eBooks are by far the most effective approach to expand your email list. You should always demand an email address in order to obtain access to an eBook. This is known as “gated content,” and it will help you fast expand your email list. Because eBooks purchased from your website are delivered via email, it’s only logical to ask for an email address in exchange for your free, or even paid, eBook. It’s far easier to grow your email list with eBooks than it is with blog post subscriptions.

Establish yourself as an expert

Your business can use eBooks to position your brand as the expert in your industry. Potential consumers begin to identify your brand with the entire category when you become an industry authority. They have faith in your company and are far more likely to purchase what you have to offer.

Personal experience

Writing my first ebook was a bit overwhelming to me. Although it was written as a children’s fiction book, it was only roughly based on the work I actually do. It gave me a better understanding as to how an ebook can help your business expand.

I do plan to write a new ebook, a study guide, that will go hand and hand with my online tutoring and my YouTube channel.

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If you choose to add an ebook to your business, take your time, if done right way, it can bring in customers and more money to your business.

5 Ways to Gain an Entrepreneurial Mindset

What is an entrepreneurial mindset?

According to Entrepreneurial Magazine, this type of mindset is a thought process and way of looking at the world in a way that strengthens an entrepreneur’s behavior. Basically, thinking in a way that ignites you to bring what you believe can happen into real life.

Entrepreneurs and business people are given the same 24 hours as everyone else, its what they choose to do in those hours, that makes them stand out. I have researched and talked to small business owners who all have these five things in come on how to gain the entrepreneurial mindset.

Never stop learning

Number one thing that helps to develop a business owners mindset, is to prioritize learning and growth. Most business owners, learn more than just how to do their current objective. They continue to learn and surround themselves with people who are also educated. Most entrepreneurs may not have a large amount of upper education degrees, but what they do have is the will to learn and the intelligence to know that they should never stop learning.

Set Realistic Goals

Second, is setting goals. Entrepreneurs do not become successful by setting the bar low. They developed a realistic plan to reach that goal and work towards it daily. The goal for any business owner is to make money. Money to support their on going business as well as to support the lives and lifestyles of themselves and their family. An entrepreneurial mindset is established by determining habits, that when done consistently, move you closer to your ultimate goal.

Being Uncomfortable

Being a business owner is a hard and uncomfortable undertaking. There is a large chance that you will face rejections, taking unforeseen risk and sometimes even failure. The third way to gain an entrepreneurs mindset is to get comfortable in the uncomfortable. Putting yourself in unfamiliar situations, will force you to think and therefore grow. In any business venture the only way to find out if something works, is to take the risk, be uncomfortable but do it anyway. If you fail, you learn from the failure, be uncomfortable and try again.

Learn From Failure

This brings us to our next way to gain an entrepreneurial mindset; to embrace risk and failure. We have all heard the statement failure is the best teacher, and its true. Taking risk has two outcomes, you win and move forward or you fail. With failure comes the chance to think of new strategies for the next try.

The Company You Keep

Lastly, we gain the mindset of an entrepreneur, by spending time with other people who have the same mindset in which you want to have. If you surround yourself with people who are positive thinking, have a positive energy and embrace the work ethic it takes to build a business, that same optimism will become a part of you as well.

Final Thoughts

The five ways listed will move you in the right direction for gaining an entrepreneurial mindset. Your mindset is the ultimate entity that determines if you are successful or not. There is no shortcut, hard work, research and all are in vain if you don’t have the correct thinking to know that you will reach your goal.

Wishing you all the best in business,

The Business Squad

The Business Squad is an organization created to unite, educate and empower small business owners to be successful. If you are looking for a likeminded, positive accountability partner, we have a whole SQUAD. Contact us at thebusinesssquad2021@gmail.com, for updates on our small business classes, upcoming events or just to chat.