Women and Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) Certification
During fiscal year 2020, the US federal government spent nearly $600 billion on goods and services from US businesses. What many women business owners may not realize is that they have a chance at landing some of that business. In fact, the government has federal contracting quotas that require agencies and contractors to award business […]
What You Need to Know Before Hiring a Coach
Depending on who you ask, the size of the coaching industry in 2022 is worth anywhere from $2.85 billion to $22 billion. Of course, that number includes all the various coaching niches, from executive coaching to life coaching to career coaching, and more. The field continues to grow as a result of people realizing the […]
Check Out the New WomensNet Resource Center
As part of its new alliance with Freelancing Females, WomensNet has launched a Resource Center with useful videos on a range of topics women business owners frequently ask questions about. The educational video series addresses: Business bookkeeping and accounting for beginners Choosing the best website platform for your needs Coaching and capacity building How to […]
Success as a Solopreneur
Where solopreneurship, or operating as a one-person company, used to be perceived as a starting point to entrepreneurship, today many start-ups are opting to remain as solo ventures. Approximately 73% of U.S. small businesses are categorized as solopreneurships, reports Podia, which equates to 41.8 million companies. Rather than being merely a stepping stone, for many […]
How to Win Back Lost Customers
Most businesses focus the bulk of their marketing efforts on attracting new customers, when their resources would be better spent on trying to win back previous customers. That’s because you actually have a better chance of winning back a lost customer than you do of converting a new prospect. Research by Marketing Metrics found your […]
Time is Money: Here’s How to Find More
Many entrepreneurs often waste time. Of course, it’s not intentional, but they spend time they shouldn’t on tasks that don’t require their direct involvement. Reducing that wasted time is the key to getting more done in less time. By focusing on maximizing productivity, by managing your time better, your business has the potential to become […]
Simple Steps to Protect Your Business from Cybercrime
Reports of cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, with small businesses becoming bigger targets because they typically have not invested in security technology to the degree that larger corporations have. Many also lack internal policies and procedures designed to thwart access to sensitive data. The FBI’s 2020 Internet Crime Report found that the cost of cybercrimes […]
Grow Your Business with Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Fifty percent of Americans would choose word-of-mouth, meaning recommendations from family and friends, if they had to choose one source of information regarding a potential purchase. That’s the power of word-of-mouth marketing, which is based on trust and credibility. In fact, 41% of Americans trust word-of-mouth recommendations over social media suggestions. Yet, surprisingly, only 33% […]
6 No-Cost Ways to Support Other Women Business Owners
The number of woman-owned businesses continues to rise, reports the US Census Bureau, and those with employees account for nearly 20% of all US businesses. When you add in women solopreneurs, that percentage rises to 42% of all businesses in the country. And women of color own half of all woman-owned companies. The rise of […]
Grow Your Influence with Public Speaking
Public speaking is one of the most effective and least expensive marketing tools available. If you have more time than money right now to grow your business, think about doing some public speaking. As the person in the front of the room sharing information, you’re the de facto authority on your topic. You’re the expert. […]
Yes, You Need a LinkedIn Page
Although we’ve been hearing a lot about video and image-based social media platforms, like TikTok and Snapchat and Instagram, LinkedIn is where you can make valuable business connections. Becoming active on LinkedIn can connect you to people who may want to do business with you, as well as with potential new hires, with potential joint […]
Ways to Hire Top Talent When You Can’t Afford to Pay Top Dollar
When faced with a choice between hiring an inexperienced employee and an award-winning superstar, most organizations would prefer to hire the superstar. The hitch is that the superstar’s compensation expectations may exceed what a smaller company can afford. It may be possible to rationalize bringing them on board and cutting budgets in other areas to […]
6 Ways to Show Gratitude to Your Clients that Cost Next to Nothing
It’s customary in many industries for companies to give their customers gifts of some kind during the holiday season. For example, beauty salons often give clients small samples of beauty products in appreciation for their business. Accounting firms sometimes mail out annual calendars for the coming year. Salespeople have been known to hand out jars […]
How to Pitch Local Media Outlets
While your business may serve a national or even global customer base, your local news and broadcast outlets are likely to be the most interested in learning about your company. Since their purpose is reporting on local people, organizations, and events, news about you and your business fits right into what many area media outlets […]
How to Improve Your Company’s Profitability
Although many business owners focus on sales as the most important metric of success, profitability, or how much you have left after you pay all your bills, is actually a much better measure of how well you’re doing. Profits are what allow you to grow and expand. They also determine whether you can afford to […]
How to Set Up a Simple Loyalty Program
One big lesson that has come out of the pandemic is the value of customer loyalty. Loyal customers not only spend more, but they also serve as business ambassadors, attracting new customers to their favorite small businesses. An often-cited statistic for spending, which originated with Bain & Company in 1991, is that loyal customers spend […]
Beyond Banks: Financing Options for Women Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Many entrepreneurs are disappointed to find that banks generally won’t lend money to startups and early-stage ventures unless the business owner already has funds available, collateral, a solid business plan, and a solid credit rating. When you’re just starting out, there aren’t many women business owners who can check all the boxes that banks frequently […]
How to Take a Day Off from Work
As we slide into the fall season, many entrepreneurs may be wondering what happened to summer. When was that break we were supposed to take? The reality is that after too many months of an ongoing pandemic, we all need a break. Even a day. Just some time for self-care and relaxation, when we stop […]
What You Can Do to Improve Cash Flow
Ask entrepreneurs what the life blood of their business is and many would probably say sales. And they’re not wrong. Sales, or paying customers, are essential for a company to stay in business. Without sales revenue, the business closes its doors. But the truth is that cash flow, which is the speed with which cash […]
The First 9 Things to Do During Startup
Starting a new business is both an exciting and a nerve-wracking time. Exciting because of all the possibilities ahead of you and nerve-wracking because of all you don’t yet know. The good news is that you can learn as you go. Everyone does, in fact. However, the more you know in advance, the faster success […]
Women Business Owners, Do You Need Business Insurance?
In a word, yes. You need insurance of some type to keep your company up-and-running long-term. Insurance is a tool to help mitigate some of the risks associated with running a business and having employees, both of which open you up to liability. “If you have a business and hope to survive, you’ll want to […]
How Pivoting Your Business Model Can be a Win
More than 4 in 10 women business owners had to pivot their business model to maintain revenue during the pandemic, according to American Express’ Entrepreneurial Spirit Trendex, conducted in 2020. 68 percent expected they would have to again in 2021. By pivot, we mean fundamentally changing the company’s business model in order to react to […]
Email Marketing Basics Every Woman Business Owner Should Know
In a study of 1,000 small business owners, email marketing ranked second as the most effective medium for branding and first for return on investment (ROI), according to a 2019 Campaign Monitor report. And when asked which marketing methods were expected to be relevant in 10 years, email marketing was tops. We asked women business […]
10 Marketing Books Every Entrepreneur Should Have on their Bookshelf
by Marcia Layton Turner Success or failure in business often comes down to marketing. Developing a product or service that people want and are willing to pay for, that you can sell at a price that generates a profit, is at the core of building a sustainable company. Master that and you can build a […]
Get application & business ideas on the WomensNet blog »
