Sure, you can be as free and liberal with your brand as you want; you can present a silly and non serious front, or you can present a laid back and easy going front. Branding is all about what you want it to be, and who you want to attract!
But even with this in mind, even with the kind of customers you’re pulling in, when it comes to certain areas of running your company, there are quite a few factors in which you’re going to have to be professional. Here are three key components of business that require you to be skilled, experienced, and professional in your manner.
In Customer Security
Your customers need to feel secure when they’re shopping with you. They need to know their payment details are safe and will never fall into the wrong hands. And seeing as you’re the retail portal they’re relying on, this is up to you.
Both online and offline, you need to be professional about security. Sure, you lock up your shop and make sure there’s no cash in the till at the end of the day, but what about your website? Is it even encrypted, when the time comes to put in card details to pay for items? It’s time to check on that.
In Shipping and Delivery
You need to be very professional about the way you pack, ship, and deliver any and all products and services. You need to have a safe and secure way to get your packages from point A to point B, and without professionalism to guide your way, there’s a good chance your delivery options will be subpar for the time being.
It’s why you might want to look into courier services; this will allow you to have more control over the process, be able to bundle your shipping needs, and with a handy Transport Marketplace to make use of, you’ll have a surefire way to chop and change your delivery services as you need to. There’s nothing quite like speed to show off your professionalism!
In Running Your Sales
And finally, you need to be very professional about the amount of sales you’re bringing in. After all, when it comes to building a customer base, and then ensuring you’ve got plenty of return sales to make profit off of, you need to cast a sure and professional eye over your books.
And being able to balance your books is another area that requires professionalism; if you can’t do it yourself, be sure to outsource your issues here to a trained and experienced accountant. Bring in the skills you need to ensure there’s plenty of professional talent behind the scenes, and your business will steadily climb up the profit margins.
Professionalism is something every single business needs. If you’re not sure about what you can manage in terms of bringing the right experience to your customers, make sure you’re working behind the scenes first, and then brand yourself second.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3756681.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-08-31 14:00:362020-08-31 15:28:47Where Professionalism Is Important In Running A Business
What motivates you in your business? What do you strive to accomplish? Answers to these pivotal questions reflect the character and personality of the business owner. As a woman of Asian ethnicity, an immigrant, in a highly competitive, male-dominated printing and publishing field, my answers rose to the surface after receiving discriminatory and stereotypical mistreatment while on the job. Instead of defeat and victimization leaching and sucking the life out of me, I chose to rise above. Discrimination motivated me and I pushed harder, worked tirelessly, looked past boundaries, dug into my creativity, and became a top salesperson in the first company, and opened a business in the printing/publishing field with my specific niche some years later.
I left that traditional printing company to start my own printing business TSE Worldwide Press, Inc., and in that process, realized as an entrepreneur I had to reinvent myself. My beginning in printing coffee-table style books of the highest quality caliber stood above my competitors in the field. My ability for meticulous precision, to spot issues and correct them quickly and before printing, gave me the business edge.
Entrepreneurship excites and invigorates me. As a graphic artist, to create products and services with ingenuity starting from zero to completion thrills me and makes me more than satisfied to have left the “traditional” behind. The ability to take a client’s dream, an image in their heads, and fashion it into a completed product while solving problems along the way, makes my life work fulfilling! I knew I had struck gold when my products sold out repeatedly, and my customers kept reordering. Their feedback crucially contributes to my achievements. Customer feedback should be carefully listened to and learned from. This may make or break your business.
However wonderful operating my business may be, there are times in which I am left wondering what had I done wrong. Jumping feet first into this opportunity, I felt like I would drown. The fear of the unknown, lack of experience, lack of strength caused problems at the beginning. I suffered huge losses from not knowing how to handle dishonest customers. The difficult realization that “honest” customers turned into “dishonest” customers, those who took advantage of my naivetés and trustworthiness, eventually toughened me up. I learned to listen to my gut, which would warn me, and to advisers, friends, family, business associates who gave input into my life. I constructed guidelines, terms, procedures to protect my company and myself, and became increasingly selective of customers. I also made the same choices for hiring employees. Not only did these steps accelerate my business, they accelerated my personal growth. In addition, I learned to stop and take a break, and implement self-care. The temptation to overwork increases as passion increases, but soon you find yourself burnt out. Solve the question, where do I want to go? Find a mentor or two who will guide and give input into your life. On my website, I include tips for new business professionals looking for guidance.
Today, my definition of success focuses on helping others succeed. The joy I receive when my happy, satisfied, and financially successful customers see their dream project become reality compares to no other. Furthermore, it is extremely rewarding when my staff members and employees excel under my mentorship. Corporately, as a group, we contribute a section of our revenue to charity in giving back to the community which supports us. These define success for me.
My advice to new entrepreneurs: find a passion, a trade, that you genuinely enjoy and that does not feel like work. Think of something that you absolutely love to do and make a product out of it. Ask for input about your ideas from family, friends, people who know you well in business and as acquaintances, to obtain an objective perspective. If you are a female entrepreneur, take any negativity and obstacles thrown at you and use them as opportunities to improve yourself. Those who doubt you now will one day respect and trust you. If they do not in the future, put them aside for they are not worth your time or energy.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/book-jacket-7-Years-on-the-Front-Line-scaled.jpg25601991StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-08-29 16:00:032020-08-29 16:37:03What Motivates You In Your Business?
In a post-COVID world, we’ll all be looking at buying and selling very differently. The ongoing global health crisis has really shown businesses that can pivot to new ways of working will be the businesses that survive, and those that don’t will be the businesses that fail.
We’ve all seen the news stories, and we’re all concerned about the impending financial crisis that is likely to hit the country, so what can we do to mitigate the fallout?
The secret to success will be to move business as online as possible, and if you sell products, then selling online will be vital to ensuring that you can weather the storm that is coming.
When brands don’t sell online, it can cost them millions. Take British clothes retailer Primark; for example, due to having no online selling presence, they lost approximately £284 million. In contrast, the British public was unable to visit the store during the lockdown. Still, interestingly, Primark’s complete avoidance of the online marketplace has left a gap that others will happily fill.
As an entrepreneur, you can only look at that story with dark amusement, but you must also see the benefit here, you can sell almost anything on Amazon and use it to turn a profit, but how exactly can you do this?
The best way to get into selling on Amazon is to use a professional Amazon marketing agency like Nuanced Media. Trying to navigate the Amazon seller sphere all on your own will be time-consuming, confusing. It will probably lead to you not achieving your goal of financial freedom and possibly financial independence with an Amazon store.
Starting Your Financial Freedom Journey
Marketing agencies like Nuanced0020Media understand how the platform works -for buyers and for sellers- and they will guide you through the process of creating your account, setting up your store and what to sell, and how much for.
Do you want to sell your own branded products (Private Label), or are you happy to find products you love at wholesale prices and sell them on for retail prices? The latter is probably the most popular option on Amazon, especially for businesses looking to get into online selling, and allows buyers to buy products they know and love, but pay you instead of another one of the bigger online sellers!
Gaining financial freedom from your job or work can be really empowering, and for companies that are concerned about taking the hit for the Coronavirus outbreak, pivoting the business model of selling online can be an absolute career saver for many small businesses.
It’s easy to get set up on Amazon, and you’ll be backed by their customer help team who are fantastic. One of the biggest bonuses of using the Amazon platform is that it’s so widely used by shoppers all over the world, so you could be connecting to anyone from anywhere!
About the Author
Ryan Flannagan is the Founder & CEO of NuancedMedia, an international eCommerce marketing agency specializing in Amazon. Nuanced has sold $100s of Millions online and Ryan has built a client base representing a total revenue of over 1.5 billion dollars. Ryan is a published author and has been quoted by a number of media sources such as BuzzFeed and Modern Retail. To connect with Ryan, check out @Ryanflannagan on Twitter or via Linkedin.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/pexels-mikotoraw-4007726.jpg19191280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-08-29 15:00:402020-09-06 21:55:45How Selling Online Can Save Businesses Post-COVID
Getting to the stage when your business is ready to start building a team can be a great achievement. Not only will you have already proven yourself and the concept that your company is built upon, but you will also be getting to the point that you can feel secure in your business. Of course, though, taking on employees is extremely expensive, often taking up the vast majority of a small company’s resources. This doesn’t have to be the case in the modern world, though, and this post is going to be showing you how to overcome this sort of issue with a business of your own.
Freelancers
Freelance work has been increasing in popularity over the last couple of decades. With the web enabling people to work at home and look for opportunities outside of newspapers and job adverts, it’s become easier than ever to take on a team that you don’t have to directly employ. Tools like Snupit make it incredibly easy to find freelance employees without having to spend weeks searching for them. Thousands of workers are on sites like this, making it much easier than you might expect to find freelance workers that won’t come with the cost of hiring someone.
Remote Employees
While permanent employment is an expensive game for businesses, looking at the idea of remote employees can be a good way to save some money. You will still have to pay to hire them, including things like pensions and health benefits, but you won’t have to fork out the costs of additional office space. People are getting more and more used to working at home, making it a great time to start looking for employees that can work from their own place. As time goes on, this sort of work routine is only going to get more popular, especially if companies continue to push for it.
Service Businesses
Service businesses make it possible to have the jobs that you would usually hire someone for covered by someone else. There are companies that can handle your marketing, web design, tech support, and a wealth of other services that you would usually have to hire a dedicated employee to handle. Not only does this make it cheaper to run your business, but it also gives you the chance to improve your productivity without having to hire more people to work for you. It’s always worth reading reviews before you choose to pay for something like this, with many companies offering very different levels of service.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of building a team without employees. This sort of process can be tricky, with many companies finding themselves struggling when they can’t afford employees but need to take on a team. Thankfully, though, the modern world has you covered.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/selective-focus-photography-of-people-sits-in-fron.jpeg6851000StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-08-29 13:00:152020-08-29 15:13:45Building A Team Without Taking On Employees
Federal spending has been going up in recent years. Regardless of your own political leanings, this spending boost is a great opportunity for government contractors. It also means there’s a lot more opportunity for small and emerging businesses as well as more established ones. Here are some of the most helpful tips to help you win contracts from the government.
Really Know Your Business
There are thousands of opportunities for federal contracts currently listed on the government’s clearinghouse website. In a way, thousands of options are worse than no option, especially if it’s your job to go through all these listings and work out which ones you might actually want to try and compete for.
The best way to manage this is to make sure that you really know your business, inside and out. You need to understand exactly what it is that you have to offer. Understanding both your business and government strategies for companies will help you to narrow down your search options a lot.
Be Aware Of Your Advantages Before Stepping Into Competition
As a small business, it can feel as though you’re at a disadvantage when you’re competing against much bigger businesses. You might be faster or more customer-focused than a larger organization with a lot more bureaucracy to deal with, but going up against the big boys can feel like an impossible fight.
In government contracting, however, that model can be turned on its head. The government actually sets aside opportunities run by women, those from economically or socially disadvantaged groups, veterans, or businesses located in underprivileged geographic areas. There are a lot of restrictions, so check each program for more details to see if you qualify.
The government also tries to set aside around a quarter of its contracts for small businesses, so you do have a chance to win contracts even if you’re still growing.
Get Comfortable With The Paperwork
If you want to business with the US Government, then your company must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration database. CCR can also be a useful tool for you too, as it will allow you to look at how many competitors there are in your industry who are already working with the government. This might give you some ideas about what it will take to make a business more attractive to the government or to give you a clue about opportunities for subcontracting.
Even though there are a lot of government contracts out there, landing them isn’t always going to be easy. Another way to get work with the government is to work as a subcontractor for larger companies. These contractors usually have a database themselves of potential partners and you will need to register with them separately from the government’s site. Have a look at the websites of big firms, and make sure you’re listed on Supplier Connection, a database that connects potential subcontractor partners to major contractors. Stay on top of the paperwork to stay on all these databases.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/word-image-18.png501750StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2020-08-29 11:00:082020-08-29 15:09:36Three Tips For Getting Government Contracts
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Where Professionalism Is Important In Running A Business
/in Entrepreneurship/by StrategyDrivenBut even with this in mind, even with the kind of customers you’re pulling in, when it comes to certain areas of running your company, there are quite a few factors in which you’re going to have to be professional. Here are three key components of business that require you to be skilled, experienced, and professional in your manner.
In Customer Security
Your customers need to feel secure when they’re shopping with you. They need to know their payment details are safe and will never fall into the wrong hands. And seeing as you’re the retail portal they’re relying on, this is up to you.
Both online and offline, you need to be professional about security. Sure, you lock up your shop and make sure there’s no cash in the till at the end of the day, but what about your website? Is it even encrypted, when the time comes to put in card details to pay for items? It’s time to check on that.
In Shipping and Delivery
You need to be very professional about the way you pack, ship, and deliver any and all products and services. You need to have a safe and secure way to get your packages from point A to point B, and without professionalism to guide your way, there’s a good chance your delivery options will be subpar for the time being.
It’s why you might want to look into courier services; this will allow you to have more control over the process, be able to bundle your shipping needs, and with a handy Transport Marketplace to make use of, you’ll have a surefire way to chop and change your delivery services as you need to. There’s nothing quite like speed to show off your professionalism!
In Running Your Sales
And finally, you need to be very professional about the amount of sales you’re bringing in. After all, when it comes to building a customer base, and then ensuring you’ve got plenty of return sales to make profit off of, you need to cast a sure and professional eye over your books.
And being able to balance your books is another area that requires professionalism; if you can’t do it yourself, be sure to outsource your issues here to a trained and experienced accountant. Bring in the skills you need to ensure there’s plenty of professional talent behind the scenes, and your business will steadily climb up the profit margins.
Professionalism is something every single business needs. If you’re not sure about what you can manage in terms of bringing the right experience to your customers, make sure you’re working behind the scenes first, and then brand yourself second.
What Motivates You In Your Business?
/in Entrepreneurship/by Sarah Y. TseI left that traditional printing company to start my own printing business TSE Worldwide Press, Inc., and in that process, realized as an entrepreneur I had to reinvent myself. My beginning in printing coffee-table style books of the highest quality caliber stood above my competitors in the field. My ability for meticulous precision, to spot issues and correct them quickly and before printing, gave me the business edge.
Entrepreneurship excites and invigorates me. As a graphic artist, to create products and services with ingenuity starting from zero to completion thrills me and makes me more than satisfied to have left the “traditional” behind. The ability to take a client’s dream, an image in their heads, and fashion it into a completed product while solving problems along the way, makes my life work fulfilling! I knew I had struck gold when my products sold out repeatedly, and my customers kept reordering. Their feedback crucially contributes to my achievements. Customer feedback should be carefully listened to and learned from. This may make or break your business.
However wonderful operating my business may be, there are times in which I am left wondering what had I done wrong. Jumping feet first into this opportunity, I felt like I would drown. The fear of the unknown, lack of experience, lack of strength caused problems at the beginning. I suffered huge losses from not knowing how to handle dishonest customers. The difficult realization that “honest” customers turned into “dishonest” customers, those who took advantage of my naivetés and trustworthiness, eventually toughened me up. I learned to listen to my gut, which would warn me, and to advisers, friends, family, business associates who gave input into my life. I constructed guidelines, terms, procedures to protect my company and myself, and became increasingly selective of customers. I also made the same choices for hiring employees. Not only did these steps accelerate my business, they accelerated my personal growth. In addition, I learned to stop and take a break, and implement self-care. The temptation to overwork increases as passion increases, but soon you find yourself burnt out. Solve the question, where do I want to go? Find a mentor or two who will guide and give input into your life. On my website, I include tips for new business professionals looking for guidance.
Today, my definition of success focuses on helping others succeed. The joy I receive when my happy, satisfied, and financially successful customers see their dream project become reality compares to no other. Furthermore, it is extremely rewarding when my staff members and employees excel under my mentorship. Corporately, as a group, we contribute a section of our revenue to charity in giving back to the community which supports us. These define success for me.
My advice to new entrepreneurs: find a passion, a trade, that you genuinely enjoy and that does not feel like work. Think of something that you absolutely love to do and make a product out of it. Ask for input about your ideas from family, friends, people who know you well in business and as acquaintances, to obtain an objective perspective. If you are a female entrepreneur, take any negativity and obstacles thrown at you and use them as opportunities to improve yourself. Those who doubt you now will one day respect and trust you. If they do not in the future, put them aside for they are not worth your time or energy.
About the Author
For more information, please visit www.sarahytse.com or www.tseworldwidepress.com.
How Selling Online Can Save Businesses Post-COVID
/in Marketing & Sales, Online Marketing and Website Development/by StrategyDrivenWe’ve all seen the news stories, and we’re all concerned about the impending financial crisis that is likely to hit the country, so what can we do to mitigate the fallout?
The secret to success will be to move business as online as possible, and if you sell products, then selling online will be vital to ensuring that you can weather the storm that is coming.
When brands don’t sell online, it can cost them millions. Take British clothes retailer Primark; for example, due to having no online selling presence, they lost approximately £284 million. In contrast, the British public was unable to visit the store during the lockdown. Still, interestingly, Primark’s complete avoidance of the online marketplace has left a gap that others will happily fill.
Primark clothing soon turned up on Amazon through resellers and at a premium too!
Fill the Gap
As an entrepreneur, you can only look at that story with dark amusement, but you must also see the benefit here, you can sell almost anything on Amazon and use it to turn a profit, but how exactly can you do this?
The best way to get into selling on Amazon is to use a professional Amazon marketing agency like Nuanced Media. Trying to navigate the Amazon seller sphere all on your own will be time-consuming, confusing. It will probably lead to you not achieving your goal of financial freedom and possibly financial independence with an Amazon store.
Starting Your Financial Freedom Journey
Marketing agencies like Nuanced0020Media understand how the platform works -for buyers and for sellers- and they will guide you through the process of creating your account, setting up your store and what to sell, and how much for.
Do you want to sell your own branded products (Private Label), or are you happy to find products you love at wholesale prices and sell them on for retail prices? The latter is probably the most popular option on Amazon, especially for businesses looking to get into online selling, and allows buyers to buy products they know and love, but pay you instead of another one of the bigger online sellers!
Gaining financial freedom from your job or work can be really empowering, and for companies that are concerned about taking the hit for the Coronavirus outbreak, pivoting the business model of selling online can be an absolute career saver for many small businesses.
It’s easy to get set up on Amazon, and you’ll be backed by their customer help team who are fantastic. One of the biggest bonuses of using the Amazon platform is that it’s so widely used by shoppers all over the world, so you could be connecting to anyone from anywhere!
About the Author
Ryan Flannagan is the Founder & CEO of NuancedMedia, an international eCommerce marketing agency specializing in Amazon. Nuanced has sold $100s of Millions online and Ryan has built a client base representing a total revenue of over 1.5 billion dollars. Ryan is a published author and has been quoted by a number of media sources such as BuzzFeed and Modern Retail. To connect with Ryan, check out @Ryanflannagan on Twitter or via Linkedin.
Building A Team Without Taking On Employees
/in Managing Your People/by StrategyDrivenGetting to the stage when your business is ready to start building a team can be a great achievement. Not only will you have already proven yourself and the concept that your company is built upon, but you will also be getting to the point that you can feel secure in your business. Of course, though, taking on employees is extremely expensive, often taking up the vast majority of a small company’s resources. This doesn’t have to be the case in the modern world, though, and this post is going to be showing you how to overcome this sort of issue with a business of your own.
Freelancers
Freelance work has been increasing in popularity over the last couple of decades. With the web enabling people to work at home and look for opportunities outside of newspapers and job adverts, it’s become easier than ever to take on a team that you don’t have to directly employ. Tools like Snupit make it incredibly easy to find freelance employees without having to spend weeks searching for them. Thousands of workers are on sites like this, making it much easier than you might expect to find freelance workers that won’t come with the cost of hiring someone.
Remote Employees
While permanent employment is an expensive game for businesses, looking at the idea of remote employees can be a good way to save some money. You will still have to pay to hire them, including things like pensions and health benefits, but you won’t have to fork out the costs of additional office space. People are getting more and more used to working at home, making it a great time to start looking for employees that can work from their own place. As time goes on, this sort of work routine is only going to get more popular, especially if companies continue to push for it.
Service Businesses
Service businesses make it possible to have the jobs that you would usually hire someone for covered by someone else. There are companies that can handle your marketing, web design, tech support, and a wealth of other services that you would usually have to hire a dedicated employee to handle. Not only does this make it cheaper to run your business, but it also gives you the chance to improve your productivity without having to hire more people to work for you. It’s always worth reading reviews before you choose to pay for something like this, with many companies offering very different levels of service.
With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of building a team without employees. This sort of process can be tricky, with many companies finding themselves struggling when they can’t afford employees but need to take on a team. Thankfully, though, the modern world has you covered.
Three Tips For Getting Government Contracts
/in Marketing & Sales/by StrategyDrivenFederal spending has been going up in recent years. Regardless of your own political leanings, this spending boost is a great opportunity for government contractors. It also means there’s a lot more opportunity for small and emerging businesses as well as more established ones. Here are some of the most helpful tips to help you win contracts from the government.
Really Know Your Business
There are thousands of opportunities for federal contracts currently listed on the government’s clearinghouse website. In a way, thousands of options are worse than no option, especially if it’s your job to go through all these listings and work out which ones you might actually want to try and compete for.
The best way to manage this is to make sure that you really know your business, inside and out. You need to understand exactly what it is that you have to offer. Understanding both your business and government strategies for companies will help you to narrow down your search options a lot.
Be Aware Of Your Advantages Before Stepping Into Competition
As a small business, it can feel as though you’re at a disadvantage when you’re competing against much bigger businesses. You might be faster or more customer-focused than a larger organization with a lot more bureaucracy to deal with, but going up against the big boys can feel like an impossible fight.
In government contracting, however, that model can be turned on its head. The government actually sets aside opportunities run by women, those from economically or socially disadvantaged groups, veterans, or businesses located in underprivileged geographic areas. There are a lot of restrictions, so check each program for more details to see if you qualify.
The government also tries to set aside around a quarter of its contracts for small businesses, so you do have a chance to win contracts even if you’re still growing.
Get Comfortable With The Paperwork
If you want to business with the US Government, then your company must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration database. CCR can also be a useful tool for you too, as it will allow you to look at how many competitors there are in your industry who are already working with the government. This might give you some ideas about what it will take to make a business more attractive to the government or to give you a clue about opportunities for subcontracting.
Even though there are a lot of government contracts out there, landing them isn’t always going to be easy. Another way to get work with the government is to work as a subcontractor for larger companies. These contractors usually have a database themselves of potential partners and you will need to register with them separately from the government’s site. Have a look at the websites of big firms, and make sure you’re listed on Supplier Connection, a database that connects potential subcontractor partners to major contractors. Stay on top of the paperwork to stay on all these databases.