5 Things To Be Clear On In Your Small Business
We all know how important it is to be clear on not only our goals, but also how we run our business and the tools we use as small business owners. Understanding your business and how it works will give you an upper hand in providing the utmost value, service and trust to your clients or customers.
You want to make sure your ideas and processes are precise, organized and appealing so there are no hiccups when working with your clientele. Not to mention, stay as stress-free as possible (wishful thinking). By working with a clear head and knowing you have organization and time management aspects down pat, you will be able to work happier and not be scrambling at all times to figure things out. And that my friends, is a beautiful thing.
So let’s break down the 5 things to be crystal clear on in your biz:
KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE & MISSION
In order to sell your products and services you have to be crystal clear on who exactly you are targeting. What are your target markets demographics, where do they hang out, what do they enjoy, what stage of life are they in? These are some questions to ask yourself when figuring out whom you want to reach. (Exercise is linked down below!)
Knowing who your target audience is goes hand in hand with truly understanding and sharing your mission statement. What is your business about? Who are you targeting? What are your services? Why are you offering these services? How will they help your audience? So many business owners out there think that targeting down their niche will limit them, but this is not true if you do it the right way. You don’t want to have too big of a niche but you don’t want to run yourself into a tiny little hole either.
You want to make sure your market is full of ideal clients and that there is a need for your product or service. By knowing whom your ideal audience is, you can do some market research and figure out their buying patterns and where they hang out. I highly suggest doing some marketing research when packaging your services, identifying your target market, and where to market your business.
HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES IN PLACE
Social media can be a full time job in itself, but social media is extremely important for any online business no matter how big or small it may be. You want to make sure you have a strategy in place for every social media platform you use in order to grow your brand, grow your following and offer something unique on each platform.
I always recommend focusing on 3-4 social media platforms so you don’t get too overwhelmed. Find the platforms that bring in the most traffic, give you the most engagement and really provide good things for your biz. You don’t want to be spending all of your time focusing on a social media that isn’t doing anything for your business! Using relevant hashtags is also an important factor to include in these strategies. Research what hashtags your target market is using and use those!
Engagement and visibility are the top two most important aspects for social media so make sure you are being as visible as possible so people see what you are saying as well as engaging with others to provide value and build relationships.
CRAFT CLEAR SERVICES & KNOW YOUR PROCESS FOR EACH
This is probably the most difficult aspect to be clear on. This is all about creating a unique offering, packaging it specifically for your target market and being clear on the process of each offering so you can seamlessly work through it and provide the utmost service to your clients. Not to mention, this helps with being organized and saving time!
Find a problem and solve it with your services. Identifying the problem is the first step in crafting a successful offering. You want to make sure you include what the outcome will be if your client purchases your service. What will they get in return? What will you provide? How will it help their business?
HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE
We can do anything but not everything. Especially for my entrepreneurs out there who are a one-person team. Being a solopreneur is not an easy task by any means, so you want to make sure you have helpful systems in place that will not only make your life easier, but save you time and keep you productive.
Some systems I would recommend would be project management (Asana), social media scheduling (Hootsuite or Buffer), client organization & email (Google Apps For Work), automation newsletter service (Mailchimp), payment system (PayPal), backup system (Google Drive), etc. These systems have helped me tremendously in staying organized, staying on task and keeping my mind clear to work properly throughout the day.
KEEP TRACK OF EXPENSES & INCOME
No one likes tax season, let’s be honest, but as a small business owner it is vital to keep track of your expenses and income. Staying organized with your finances will help you understand where you stand in your biz, what you may need to change or tweak and keep you within your budget. It also makes tax season a lot easier when you have all of your statements and expenses laid out.
I like to keep a list handy of all my monthly expenses, how much each is per month and the date they are to be paid. I also keep a list of yearly expenses, how much and the date to be paid. This helps you stay on track with payment, and really allows you to budget yourself properly and effectively.
Do you want to get crystal clear on who your target market is and find other helpful resources for your biz?
Caroline Rogers
(also well known as Cali) is a brand stylist and strategist for passionate female entrepreneurs over at www.calijaedesigns.com. She helps her fellow lady bosses build the empire of their dreams through beautiful design and branding. In her spare time you can find her drinking a nice hot cup of coffee, reading a good book and traveling.
