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Showing posts with label Entrepreneurialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entrepreneurialism. Show all posts

Grow Your Coaching Business With JV Partners

One of the fastest ways to grow you business is to find people to joint venture with. A joint venture is when you partner with someone to promote a product or service and both you and your partner benefit.
There a number of ways you can use a JV partnership to build your business---even if you're just starting out and have no list. The idea is to make it a win/win/win situation... for you, your partner, and the potential clients.
Here are my 5 favorite ways to joint venture:

1) Joint venture with a local business owner.
This is a great way to get started building your list. Find a local business owner that is open to a partnership and preferably has a related product. For example, if you're a health and wellness coach, you might want to partner with a spa or massage salon owner. If you're a relationship coach, you might want to partner with a restaurant owner (one that has a romantic atmosphere!), chocolate/dessert or gift shop owner. A business coach might find an office supply store owner.
Any kind of coach can approach a bookstore owner, especially if you have a book for sale, or a restaurant owner. I have a client who gave talks about time management at a local pizza parlor and another client who gave talks on grieving at a local funeral home. Use your imagination on this one.
With this kind of JV partnership, you could offer to give a talk on your topic. You could even give a series of talks or a monthly or quarterly talk. Both you and the business owner promote the talk and both of you will be exposed to new potential business. Your call to action will be to sign up for your newsletter or a freebie. Your partner can give out discount coupons or a free sample. It's a way to attract more business for the business owner in a different and interesting way from what he/she is already doing or has previously tried.
2) Joint venture with a colleague who has a related product.
If you're just starting out, this can be with someone who has a bigger list than yours. You can make a deal with them where they promote you to their list now, and you promote them to your list later, when your list reaches a certain size. An example of this kind of partnership is a business coach partnering with someone who has a web design service, or a health coach who partners with someone offering nutritional supplements/health care products.
It's also possible to partner with another coach who has a specific product for an area that you don't cover to that extent, such as a business coach who has a start up training program partnering with a business coach who has a product on monetizing with Facebook ads.
3) Offer your product as a bonus.
If you have an introductory product such as a book, video series, or home study course, you could offer it as a bonus for a joint venture partner's larger product. You've probably seen this before---you get an email about a 12-month coaching program and on the sales page you see bonuses that include another coach's 30-day challenge, or CD series on a related topic, etc. That's an example of this kind of partnership. It's a way to get your foot in the door with someone who already has a list, and it makes their offer look more valuable.
4) Recommend each other's products.
You can find a JV partner who has the same target market as yours and agree to recommend the other's product or service. This will work for a related product or a different product. You can promote each other by putting a recommendation in your newsletters, or sending out a solo email to your respective lists. Doing this with different partners each month, positions you as a hub to go to for valuable resources.
5) Create a product together.
Sometimes I come across someone who has a really cool product but it's not appropriate for my list or vice versa. After some brainstorming we can sometimes come up with a product that would be appropriate for both lists and would be fairly easy to create. This product would combine our knowledge in a unique way that our respective products don't cover.
For example, two business coaches I know were discussing how to use a particular software program and decided to create a product that showed their clients how to use it more effectively. Another set of partners combined mindset coaching with a business strategy to produce a course that covered both areas.
With all of these scenarios, you can use an affiliate program to keep track of which JV partners send you business so you can pay them a commission. Or you may want to do one JV partnership project at a time so you know where any new business comes from. Either way, you need to keep track of the business your partners send you and pay them their commissions promptly.
A joint venture partnership is a more involved and advanced version of an affiliate program because you culture a friendship/relationship with that person that may last for years. It takes more time and work to develop joint venture partnerships, but they are usually more financially rewarding and create longer-lasting personal relationships. You can count on support from one another, and you aim to do projects with each other on a regular basis. You can still give them an affiliate link to promote your products, or you might want to give them their own webpage on your site. A satisfied JV partner is one of your biggest business assets.
Jeannette Koczela, best selling author, marketing business coach, and the founder of the International Association of Professional Life Coaches™, trains life coaches who want to get more clients, grow their business, and make more money. Let her help you create a thriving coaching business and attract your ideal clients. Get her free eBook, "7 Quick-Start Marketing Strategies for Getting Clients This Week" HERE.

Are Inventors Also Entrepreneurs?

Can a good inventor become a successful entrepreneur? Based on many cases, it's reasonable to suggest that for every inventor that did develop keen marketing skills, there was at least one that didn't stand a chance regardless of how much blood, sweat and tears went into the venture. I think it's best to remember that in most instances, inventors need entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs need inventors. I'm convinced the partnering of those distinct and important talents works to everyone's advantage.

The successful entrepreneur and the successful inventor are both tireless and are able to rebound with a positive mental attitude as well as an abundance of energy each morning. Problems within the product development process are always numerous beyond comprehension and the answers are rarely obvious.
Both handle pressure by keeping it contained within the background and never allow it to become an obstacle. All entrepreneurs and inventors feel pressure and it must be addressed and tolerated without having adverse effects on their programs as well as their personal lives.
An entrepreneur might listen to all and ask advise from all. He will review case studies and constantly challenge the price of the product without jeopardizing development progress. Inventors tend to change direction too easily, almost always having a better way to do it instead of making the original path better.

Entrepreneurs are detail oriented all day long, mostly because budget restraints force them to be. They have check lists and plans of action they continuously refer to. They believe in schedules knowing windows of opportunity close quickly. Inventors are detail oriented first thing in the morning, but it fades very quickly.
Inventors often think they are also entrepreneurs. However, most do not like entrepreneurs or marketing people as well. They don't undervalue their talents; they just have difficulty acknowledging them. Most entrepreneurs totally respect all inventors they meet. Some of them want to be inventors also, but few are.
An entrepreneur will see the marketing value of a new product idea before the inventor will. Inventors aren't willing to see it until they themselves determine it's ready to be seen.
Inventors tend to be introverts. Marketing and sales people tend to be extroverts. I'm not a psychologist, but I truly believe this is so. A marketing guy will smile and make you want to listen to the sales pitch. The inventor will not smile and will expect your undivided attention as he describes the product in detail to you.
There are many phases to a product development cycle and no one does all of them perfectly. Finding the right people to take charge of each area is always a plus. However, knowing your idea inside and out, and knowing its product worth is the secret to making it successful. http://www.ldouglas.com/Larry-Douglas-EBooks.html

3 Questions to Ask Before Closing Your Business

Have you ever had a business that you felt inclined to close? Are you currently considering closing the doors to your business? Does the thought of it all give you anxiety? Do you wonder what to do next? You are not alone. Countless other entrepreneurs, including myself, have had those same feelings. I look back on those moments and I can now see that those were "breakdowns before breakthroughs".

Often times those breakdowns can be the best thing for you to experience growth. Several clients have asked me "How do you know when to walk away?" My response to each of them was the same. It is truly a personal decision that no one except the business owner can answer. Today on Social Media's "Throwback Thursday" I posted a picture of a private preschool that I owned for several years that I eventually had to walk away from. I have not openly talked about that situation for it was such a hard decision and it still stings a bit. So bear with me; this may be a pseudo therapy session!
After the birth of my first son I was practicing law full time and had to rely upon childcare providers. I quickly become very unimpressed with the quality and high pricing of childcare providers. Those feelings caused me to begin to have visions of owning my own pre school. It came to fruition 6 years later when I purchased a daycare center that was literally in its last days. There were less than 20 kids enrolled and the center and it had a $7200 per month financial deficit. I worked soooo hard to pull the center out of the mud! I believed in myself and what I could do. I worked with professionals to create a structured curriculum, implemented extra curricular activities, introduced a foreign language program and so many other things. In less than a year I quadrupled enrollment and pulled the center from the grim financial state. As an attorney I knew very little about the childcare industry aside from what I would expect as a parent. I studied, I researched, I WORKED. I put countless hours and over $100,000.00 of my personal savings into this business. (Yes, that's the part that stings!)
Eventually obstacles started to arise. Obstacles that made it very hard and incredibly stressful for me to run the business. Telling you about all those obstacles would be an extra long post all in itself... or maybe even a short TV drama series! I stuck it out as long as I could, but eventually made the personal decision to walk away from the business. I had to weigh my options. The stress that the business was causing & the attention it was taking from my family was not worth it. The amount of money I made from that venture could not possibly justify the huge effect it had on my quality of life. I loved all those children in the school like my own; however my quality of life was much more important. I considered those factors and the length of time that I endured the stress and it just made sense to walk away and maintain my sanity!
For awhile I felt like a failure. I cried, I was upset, I was disappointed... so many feelings at the same time. I spent so much time in the business that I honestly just felt lost and confused about what to do with all the extra hours I had in a day. Looking back on it I am positive that was the BEST decision; however at the time I could not see that (not even a little bit). The only things I could think about was how this private preschool was what I wanted and how I worked so hard. I also beat myself up because I had spent money that very well could have funded at least one of my children's college education.
I'm slowly coming out of being hesitant to talk about it. Why? Because I no longer feel like a failure. I do not feel like a failure because now I know that I am NOT a failure. I turned the business around and accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I had the pleasure of meeting and having relationships with over 100 sets of parents, loving on and nurturing over 100 children, supplying over 13 ladies with a job and was able to scratch a big task from my bucket list! I lost money. So what? Money comes and money goes. If I was able to save that amount once I had to reassure myself that I was totally capable of doing it again, but now because of what I learned in that savings journey, I can do it quicker than I did before! One business did not work out the way I had liked. OK. So what! There are several others that have and still are doing well. That is the chance one takes as an entrepreneur, right? It took me 6 weeks to continuously remind myself of this and grieve. After that I picked up my feelings and was on to the next venture.
It was a tough experience, but a necessary experience. If you are considering closing your business here are
3 Questions you should ask yourself before shutting your doors:
1. Is what you are experiencing truly your hearts desire?
2. Is continuing in this business going to drain you even if its a raging success?
3. Does the thought of the business magically disappearing and you moving to something new bring you excitement and a sense of lightness?
Once you have the answers to these questions you can make a better decision. Remember, when it comes to tough decisions like this it is your heart that has the answers; not your mind. If you have a business that you are considering closing or if you have a business that closed, don't let that be the end all! It happens. It is the UGLY in the good, bad and the ugly of entrepreneurship. When you were learning to ride a bike you fell off, right? You did not get on the first time and ride with ease. If you were anything like me you were determined to learn to ride even more after a fall! I bet after you fell and put a bandage on your knee you got right back on. It is the same thing with entrepreneurship. If it is in your blood to live a life of entrepreneurship there is nothing you can do about it! It is a trait that you are stuck with. Knowing that fact about yourself, don't let one disappointing experience keep you off the bike. Get back on the bike, regain your balance and peddle with even more force and determination! A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!
Have you ever walked away from something and found that walking away was a huge blessing? What was the biggest take-way lesson learned?
For more information on strategies and techniques to rebrand and rebuild your business, visit my website at http://www.LeniseWilliams.com

Tips to Help You on Your Quest to Start a Coffee Business

Starting a coffee business is a complicated endeavor but definitely a worthwhile one. It makes you risk a valuable amount for the capital but when managed and run properly, you can earn substantial rewards from it.

Coffee is an integral part of people's lifestyle. You work with coffee in your table, you study with it, and you chill with it. Coffee is the best partner when catching up with friends, when brainstorming for ideas, when working on your thesis, or during your graveyard shift. It all boils down to the idea that coffee is a necessary part of people's lives, whether they are a self-acclaimed coffee lover or occasional coffee drinker. One out of five people all over the world consumes a cup or two in a day. If you'll put up a coffee business in a good location you are sure to earn a satisfying ROI in a year.
Starting a coffee business however is not just about finding the best coffee shop for sale. It takes serious planning and deliberation over which coffee shop is worthwhile and if the location has good potential. Here are some tips that can help you with your quest to start a coffee business.
First is that you need to register your coffee business and file the necessary paperwork.
Once your business is registered and you have applied as well for the employer identification number, you can now start looking for the best location. Depending on your type of coffee business you should find a location with adequate space for all of your planned layouts.
If you're going the coffee shop for sale route, you should still check it out if it would be easy to redesign or renovate. Check the quality of the structure if it's still safe to operate for a good number of years. Take notice of the foot traffic as well.
Before you even decide to buy coffee shop premises consider first if you'll not have trouble finding good suppliers. You can map out your business plan - who, where, and how are you going to tap potential sources of coffee beans, syrups and equipment?
When you've taken care of all the plans, start planning on how you're going to attract customers. What type of marketing and advertising strategy are you going to use? Since you're just starting the business, you need to focus on a brand awareness campaign.
Promote your business to your friends and colleagues, pass out fliers and brochures, use the potential of internet marketing to make your coffee shop be known to as many possible customers as possible.
Joseph works at Cafe2u, a mobile coffee franchise company. The company provides franchise opportunities for anyone looking to buy coffee shop premises. He enjoys writing blogs giving tips and advice on how to go about starting your coffee van.

4 Ways To Lead With More Influence

Many leaders set goals to move ahead without fully leveraging their leadership ability to use their influence without authority. While this approach of non-authoritative leadership may at first seem oxymoronic, this style of leading is very important in today's ever-changing world.

The old strategy of being an overly directive boss is not nearly as effective as it once was, and requires reexamination and self-awareness.
Using various functions of your physical being as an analogy, you can quickly determine whether you have the full range of conversational perspectives that a leader needs to influence people in almost every situation. A quick body scan can easily help you remember how to improve your leadership by gaining more influence using less authority.
1. Left Brain.
The left brain is the house of facts, reason, analysis, information, and data. When you are an authority, or when you know facts that are meaningful to the other individual, relying on the left brain can help you resonate with that person with ideas that make sense.
However, most leaders use the left brain excessively, especially in our culture. There are limitations to facts and logic. For example, it is hard to win over someone's heart with a PowerPoint deck.
You may have heard the saying, emotions sell and reasons justify. To access your own logic ask yourself, "What does my [left] brain tell me about this situation?"
2. Right Brain.
The right brain is where we process images, stories, metaphors, and pictures. It is the entryway to the subconscious. By using more anecdotes and images, leaders can reach people at a different level than with the left brain alone. If you can help someone see it, they will believe it.
3. Gut.
Dr. Herbert Simon, the late social scientist, is known for helping us to understand how we accumulate knowledge. Our brains seek to organize the knowledge into patterns, known as "chunking". With this stored knowledge, we are alerted to danger, sense when someone is lying, or determine a course of action. The message seems to come from an inside voice or our internal self. It comes from our gut.
The gut, or "hara" as the Japanese refer to it, is our core. The gut speaks to us and gives us our gift of intuition. It is where we go when we take a stand, negotiate, declare appropriately, form an agreement, or set boundaries. When we use our gut to influence, we inform someone what we prefer or don't like about his or her actions, we share our expectations, and offer incentives to encourage them to conform. When we connect with others at a gut level, they respond instinctively. When you ask someone on your team to take a gut level check, they are to determine if the idea makes sense or seems reasonable. Ask yourself, "What is your gut telling you?" to see what your instincts are telling you about a situation.
4. Heart.
In business settings where we seek an authentic commitment and not just compliance, it is not enough to direct or to assert. We need to become better askers than tellers. We have to be willing to be vulnerable.
The discussion will shift to asking for advice and help, to listening to the other person's hopes and goals in order to collaborate and find a solution, and being flexible about the process to produce results. The leader is not being indecisive, especially on the ultimate goal, but is being open and receptive to novel views about how the individual can be better, about how to get to the target. This approach builds team engagement. Remember, most people don't care how much a leader knows until they can feel that their leader cares. To improve your leadership influence without authority, use different perspectives when you give and receive information. Make the quick body scan to remember how your messages are given and received.
Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and Registered Corporate Coach (TM), is a highly interactive, creative speaker and author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, annual conventions, and teleclass sales training programs. To contact Barb, sign up for her FREE teleclass and get her Sales Strategies Ezine go to http://www.MySalesTactics.com.

3 Essential Disciplines Needed to Becoming a Success

When I was a kid, discipline meant a spanking, standing in the corner, or going to my room until I could "play nice with others". So, as I became an adult with an entrepreneurial ambition, the idea of discipline as a successful business tool did not set well with me at first. Only when I could see the benefit of certain disciplines, did I adopt a new mind on the matter. Below I will discuss three essential disciplines that I have adopted as daily habits to having a successful business (and life!).


1. Self-Improvement: Set aside time everyday, every week, or every month if that is all you can for self-improvement. The self-improvement I'm talking about is not necessarily physical (however, that is good too), but working on the non-organic part of you; mind, spirit, soul. The best business tool is to genuinely know yourself. When you know yourself (and this is a lifetime process!) you can genuinely connect with others, and they can connect with you. Whether you are in sales, providing a professional service, or leading a company, being relatable to the people around you is essential to your success. There are an abundance of resources available for self-improvement.
 My recommendation would be to ask a trusted friend, family member or co-worker who you see qualities in that you admire for their recommended resource. Also, there are a lot of self-improvement communities that you can become involved in; such as a church group, bible study group, addiction anonymous groups if that is what you need to work on, etc. The discipline is to make the effort and stick with it - you won't regret it!
2. Invest in Knowledge: Whatever business you are in, the more you know and understand about the people, industry, finances, economy, the products, etc., the better prepared you are for growth and success. Find respected authors online or published in your business area and set aside time to invest in growing your knowledge. Reading and even watching informational videos is an easy way to expand your knowledge everyday.
3. Gain Perspective: Let's face it! Life is busy! The more successful your business becomes, the more the business will demand your time. This is a critical point in every business owners career, to either step back to gain perspective of the goals, or keep going and eventually let the business take control of your life. An essential discipline is to set aside time away from your business to reflect, journal and gain perspective of the goals. You are in control of the direction of the business, so take the time to keep perspective and remain in the driver's seat. If you are not careful, the business WILL take the control from you, in one way or another. I recommend taking at least two to three "retreats" per year just to refocus on the business goals. The "retreats" can be three to seven days, but no less than three, sometimes it takes a couple of days to clear your head from all of the busyness. Be careful, these are not vacations! These retreats are business in nature and are essential for your success. 
Rewrite your goals mission statement and make plans for any changes that need to take place in order to get the business back on course.
In conclusion, self-improvement, knowledge and stepping back from your busy life are three essential disciplines for any successful business owner.
My name is Lisa Williams, I own and operate an accounting office for Certified Public Accountants. I have been a CPA for 21 years. I am also an Independent Business Owner of the Amway Corp. which has prompted me to write this business article to share my experience as a business owner and to open the door for like-minded entrepreneurs to share the business opportunity that Amway provides. Please visit my personal website at http://healthywebstore.wix.com/lisa-williamsibo for more information about me.

3 Questions to Ask Before Closing Your Business

Have you ever had a business that you felt inclined to close? Are you currently considering closing the doors to your business? Does the thought of it all give you anxiety? Do you wonder what to do next? You are not alone. Countless other entrepreneurs, including myself, have had those same feelings. I look back on those moments and I can now see that those were "breakdowns before breakthroughs".

Often times those breakdowns can be the best thing for you to experience growth. Several clients have asked me "How do you know when to walk away?" My response to each of them was the same.
 It is truly a personal decision that no one except the business owner can answer. Today on Social Media's "Throwback Thursday" I posted a picture of a private preschool that I owned for several years that I eventually had to walk away from. I have not openly talked about that situation for it was such a hard decision and it still stings a bit. So bear with me; this may be a pseudo therapy session!
After the birth of my first son I was practicing law full time and had to rely upon childcare providers. I quickly become very unimpressed with the quality and high pricing of childcare providers. Those feelings caused me to begin to have visions of owning my own pre school. It came to fruition 6 years later when I purchased a daycare center that was literally in its last days. 
There were less than 20 kids enrolled and the center and it had a $7200 per month financial deficit. I worked soooo hard to pull the center out of the mud! I believed in myself and what I could do. I worked with professionals to create a structured curriculum, implemented extra curricular activities, introduced a foreign language program and so many other things. In less than a year I quadrupled enrollment and pulled the center from the grim financial state. 
As an attorney I knew very little about the childcare industry aside from what I would expect as a parent. I studied, I researched, I WORKED. I put countless hours and over $100,000.00 of my personal savings into this business. (Yes, that's the part that stings!)
Eventually obstacles started to arise. Obstacles that made it very hard and incredibly stressful for me to run the business. Telling you about all those obstacles would be an extra long post all in itself... or maybe even a short TV drama series! I stuck it out as long as I could, but eventually made the personal decision to walk away from the business. I had to weigh my options. 
The stress that the business was causing & the attention it was taking from my family was not worth it. The amount of money I made from that venture could not possibly justify the huge effect it had on my quality of life. I loved all those children in the school like my own; however my quality of life was much more important. 
I considered those factors and the length of time that I endured the stress and it just made sense to walk away and maintain my sanity!
For awhile I felt like a failure. I cried, I was upset, I was disappointed... so many feelings at the same time. I spent so much time in the business that I honestly just felt lost and confused about what to do with all the extra hours I had in a day. Looking back on it I am positive that was the BEST decision; however at the time I could not see that (not even a little bit). The only things I could think about was how this private preschool was what I wanted and how I worked so hard. I also beat myself up because I had spent money that very well could have funded at least one of my children's college education.
I'm slowly coming out of being hesitant to talk about it. Why? Because I no longer feel like a failure. I do not feel like a failure because now I know that I am NOT a failure. I turned the business around and accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I had the pleasure of meeting and having relationships with over 100 sets of parents, loving on and nurturing over 100 children, supplying over 13 ladies with a job and was able to scratch a big task from my bucket list! I lost money. So what? Money comes and money goes. If I was able to save that amount once I had to reassure myself that I was totally capable of doing it again, but now because of what I learned in that savings journey, I can do it quicker than I did before! One business did not work out the way I had liked. OK. 
So what! There are several others that have and still are doing well. That is the chance one takes as an entrepreneur, right? It took me 6 weeks to continuously remind myself of this and grieve. After that I picked up my feelings and was on to the next venture.
It was a tough experience, but a necessary experience. If you are considering closing your business here are
3 Questions you should ask yourself before shutting your doors:
1. Is what you are experiencing truly your hearts desire?
2. Is continuing in this business going to drain you even if its a raging success?
3. Does the thought of the business magically disappearing and you moving to something new bring you excitement and a sense of lightness?
Once you have the answers to these questions you can make a better decision. Remember, when it comes to tough decisions like this it is your heart that has the answers; not your mind. If you have a business that you are considering closing or if you have a business that closed, don't let that be the end all! It happens. It is the UGLY in the good, bad and the ugly of entrepreneurship. When you were learning to ride a bike you fell off, right? You did not get on the first time and ride with ease. 
If you were anything like me you were determined to learn to ride even more after a fall! I bet after you fell and put a bandage on your knee you got right back on. It is the same thing with entrepreneurship. If it is in your blood to live a life of entrepreneurship there is nothing you can do about it! It is a trait that you are stuck with. Knowing that fact about yourself, don't let one disappointing experience keep you off the bike. 
Get back on the bike, regain your balance and peddle with even more force and determination! A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!
Have you ever walked away from something and found that walking away was a huge blessing? What was the biggest take-way lesson learned?
For more information on strategies and techniques to rebrand and rebuild your business, visit my website at http://www.LeniseWilliams.com

3 Tips For Using Your Facebook Page To Build Your Business

Social media offers a variety of different platforms to use to reach new clients. For me and my clients, Facebook is often the best fit.
If that's true for you too, use the tips below to get started using a Facebook page for your business, or to improve your results.

1) Be yourself.
Don't hide behind your business' name and branding. Use your photo, not a logo, as your page's profile picture. The page's cover photo can be a version of your website's branded header or a stock image that represents your business well.
Include your full name in the name of your Facebook page, if you can. Be sure your name is listed at least once in your page's descriptive fields. (I'm shocked by how often I can't figure out who's running a page, without a ton of digging.)
Your potential client is looking to connect with an individual expert like you, not a faceless company, to guide her towards the transformation she wants.
2) Be consistent.
There are many different theories about how to most effectively post on your Facebook page. I recommend experimenting with the types of posts you share and their frequency until you discover what creates the best engagement with your unique tribe.
What's essential is that you remain consistent in message and tone, and that you post regularly (once daily is a good start). You can use the built-in scheduler on your Facebook page to make this easy.
You can offer valuable tips, recipes, inspirational quotes and informative videos. You can share links to articles and videos by other experts, but do this less often and always include your own thoughts or commentary with the link.
Share your free gift ezine optin regularly, and occasionally also offer your Breakthrough Session or products. Keep the main focus of your page about providing value, but don't forget that you're running a business. Make it clear that you offer services and products related to the informative tips you share.
Remain consistent in your brand's message. This starts with clarity around who your ideal client is. For example, if you specialize in showing busy moms how to prepare healthy family meals, don't post an article you just read about an 80 year old vegan marathoner. Stick to the topics of most interest to your ideal clients and you'll create trust, and greater engagement.
Step outside your comfort zone and share yourself personally on your business page to the degree that feels good to you. Some coaches love doing this and regularly share personal stories and pics of themselves and their families, bringing their brand's message to life in a fun way.
If that doesn't sound like fun to you though, find your own version of this. Maybe you shy away from posting pics of your family's hiking trip, but you might post a link about your favorite trails and a few words about why you love to hike. Every time you show up online as a real person living the life your clients desire, you're bringing them closer to you and effectively building your brand.
3) Be patient.
I most often recommend a Facebook business page to my clients who are already using Facebook regularly. If you're already there, and feel comfortable with it, then it's a good idea to bring your business to Facebook (if you know it's a place your ideal clients spend time too).
Don't spend all your Facebook energy on getting likes. Cover the basics: invite your friends, and share the link to your Facebook page on your personal profile, in emails, on your website, and when talking with people in person. Participate occasionally in "Fan Page Friday" events and Like Swaps.
Put your energy instead towards creating engagement. It's not much help to have 1000 likes, and only reach 15 people with each post. To reach more of your page's fans, you need to get them to like, comment and share your posts. To do that, follow tip #2 above about experimenting with post types and frequency, and being consistent in your message and tone.
Consider boosting some of your posts. Spend just $5, once in a while, and you'll often reach hundreds more of your fans with that post. If they like, comment or share it, those same fans are more likely to see your subsequent posts. Use this feature to boost a post that's already attracting some interest, a link to your free gift ezine sign up, or a special limited time offer.
This costs very little, so experiment with it to see what kinds of results you get.
Business building results from using a Facebook page will vary, so I recommend you bring a lot of patience to this piece of your overall marketing strategy. Continuing using your other marketing tools (including your blog, ezine, speaking, and networking) consistently for best overall results in your business. Your growing brand needs your support from multiple directions.
About the Author: Heather Cottrell, HHC, HLC of Get Awesome Tech shows health coaches, wellness pros and other creative entrepreneurs how the right tech can grow your business and simplify your life. With solutions for every stage of your business, Get Awesome Tech offers business coaching, website design and online marketing strategies specially designed for creative wellness professionals with a mindset for success.
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