“Unity is strength. Collaboration is power.”

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”

You may have heard or seen some of these quotes before. They are fairly popular and are frequently used to rally the troops to work together to achieve a common goal, whether that’s winning a basketball game, convincing neighbors to support a local cause, or joining forces to reach a revenue goal.

The quotes can also apply to businesses that partner to achieve better results than they each could individually.

I’m talking about collaborative competition, or partnering with other businesses to attract attention and generate more business for all. Even competitors can join forces to increase demand for all the companies’ services. Because the truth is, the more you can push past the idea that other companies are direct competitors and see them as powerful allies, the easier it will be for you all to grow your businesses.

Adjusting Your Money Mindset

If you’re having trouble imagining how you could benefit from sharing information or pooling resources with the competition, you need to re-examine your money mindset.

Instead of assuming there is a small or finite amount of business up for grabs and that you need to beat out your competitors to be successful, how about reframing the situation? What if there was plenty of business for all of you? 

With that in mind — taking a more abundant perspective — you may be able to see how every business has strengths and weaknesses, even if they are selling the same products or services. Those strengths and weaknesses are differentiators. For example, geographic location can be a differentiator, as can brands carried or training workers have received.

If you can recognize that each business in your industry or space is different, you can start to see that there is enough business for everyone. You can work together to educate your market and attract attention for all the companies involved, so that you all make more sales.

For example, several gift shops in one town could band together to promote an evening of shopping for harried moms, maybe offering free child care to buyers. This helps attract shoppers to all shops in the area so that all have a chance to generate more business. Some thrift stores have been known to host a “thrift crawl” that buses shoppers from store to store during one evening. Or restaurants in one area could host a progressive dinner, with each location serving one dish.

Look for ways to partner, not put down.

Find Strategic Partnership Opportunities

The first step, of course, is brainstorming which other businesses might be strong collaboration partners. You could list complementary companies, such as those that serve the same target market as you but with different products or services. For example, if you’re a wedding destination, your target audience is likely engaged couples in your area. So, think about all of the businesses in your area that also serve soon-to-be-married couples, or online businesses that sell products that could be used at your location, such as rental linens and tableware.

Think about other businesses you’re already connected to. Is there some overlap in the audiences you serve or the products and services you provide where you could partner on some type of offering?

Local businesses have the opportunity to partner on in-person events, whereas online businesses can collaborate on virtual summits or product bundles.

But you don’t have to necessarily partner on a sales-related initiative. You could also collaborate by exchanging email lists or featuring a partner in a newsletter issue to your customers, and vice versa. 

But before you can zero in on how you’ll work together, you need to get clear about the businesses that would be a fit for your products and services, target audience, aesthetic, and reputation. If you’re a high-end provider, you’ll want to identify other upscale businesses that are serving a similar clientele.

Types of Partnerships and Collaborations

Once you’ve made a list of potential partners, you can make a list of the many ways you can work together for mutual benefit. This could include:

• Agreeing to become referral partners
• Joining forces at area trade shows or conventions
• Pooling marketing resources
• Creating a new product or service together that blends your strengths
• Hosting promotional workshops or events together

After you’ve identified businesses you’d like to partner with, the next step is contacting them to see if they have any interest in collaborating. If they are, you can discuss what you’re looking for and what they need to see if there is an overlap where you could both benefit by working together.

Formalizing Your Relationship

Even when you’re working casually with other businesses, it’s always smart to clarify what your expectations are — and for them to state theirs. That way, you avoid any problems or conflicts down the line.

You could create a formal written agreement or send a series of emails outlining each party’s responsibilities. A signed agreement is best, however.

Some of the issues you may want to discuss include:

• Whether any information shared is considered proprietary and needs to be protected
• Whether any customers are off-limits or if a referral fee will be paid between collaborators
• Preferred communication tools —will you be texting, emailing, calling, or something else?
• Expected response time — if you expect messages to be top priority, everyone needs to agree or you risk strained relationships
• How any conflicts will be handled
• How money will be handled — who is putting money in, what do they get, and how will proceeds be split later?
• Who is tracking the shared finances, if any

Before you formalize your relationship on paper, bring up these issues and make sure they are addressed and agreed upon to everyone’s satisfaction.

Start Small

It’s always a good idea to test a potential collaboration on a small scale before investing heavily in a major event or initiative.

For example, you might include a mention of your collaborators in an upcoming customer newsletter, and they could do the same for you. You could print up a custom sign for an event, such as a neighborhood shopping night, to see how things go. Or you could agree to develop a special product bundle of a limited quantity, to see how well they sell.

No matter what kind of collaboration you ultimately decide to participate in, make sure that your company or brand is on equal footing with your collaborators. Unless they are funding an event or initiative and you’re effectively a supporting partner, all of your brands should be on equal footing.

Use this startup period to set up systems for tracking results. You’ll want to be able to study your numbers to determine if it makes sense to continue collaborating or under what circumstances it is profitable for you. To have access to that data, you need to start collecting it now, from the outset.

Collaborations can be very effective ways to pool resources, attract attention, and generate sales for participants. You may not discover that sweet spot immediately, but if you find other business owners you like working with, keep testing different avenues for joint events and marketing campaigns so that you all benefit.

We hear a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners talk about “scaling.” Scaling a business is a goal for many because it involves increasing revenue faster than expenses. 

As SCORE’s Anita Campbell explains, “Scalability is about capacity and capability.  Does your business have the capacity to grow? Will your business systems, infrastructure, and team be able to accommodate growth?”

Typically, growth comes through increasing revenue by increasing production, adding employees, and addressing other capacity constraints, such as space, raw materials, shipping, etc. But revenue and expenses frequently rise in parallel – the more you sell, the more resources you need to invest to make that happen.

Scaling, however, is all about increasing capacity and sales without having to ramp up other aspects of the business. This is frequently accomplished through automation and other technology that can replace outdated and labor-intensive manual processes.

So, how can you scale and still have some semblance of a personal life? It’s challenging, to be sure, but possible if you plan for it. 

The first step is defining what scaling looks like to you.

How big do you want to scale?

Although scaling is appealing simply because sales can increase exponentially, the fast pace of growth can be extremely stressful. Yes, you can make a lot of money but at what cost? 

Maintaining control of growth is hard, so it’s smart to plan how quickly you want to grow. And you may not necessarily want to work 24/7 for the next year to make it happen.

Set realistic growth goals, keeping in mind the lifestyle you want and the other commitments and relationships you have.

Think about how you could grow your company without having to work around the clock. What would that look like? What is a stretch-but-doable revenue target? Are there certain aspects of the company you could expand that would generate more revenue without requiring a lot more of your time?

Systematize and automate

At the heart of scaling are systems and processes that make it possible to do more in less time. Automation is another key aspect of scaling, as a tool that helps you get more done with less human involvement—that’s how you increase sales without having to hire more employees.

For example, introducing a customer service chatbot on your website to help customers find answers to simple questions would be one automation tool.

Identify which processes have the biggest impact on the business. Those are the ones you should aim to automate first.

If shipping is a potential bottleneck in your business, explore how you could speed that process up. Do you need a better labeling system? A better-organized inventory system? Or something else?

On top of technology tools, think about how you can speed up your workforce.

One of the best tools for that is the creation of standard operating procedures (a.k.a. SOPs). SOPs are written instructions for how to complete a task, as developed by people on your team who are responsible for that task. With each employee completing a task the same way, your process will inevitably become faster. Not only that, but SOPs help standardize quality.

Delegate every task that doesn’t require your involvement

As the business owner or leader, you get the final say on how your company is run. But that doesn’t mean that you have to personally do everything. In fact, you should be working in the business as little as possible.

Your role is strategic, big picture.

You get to plan how your company will grow, what products and services you’ll sell and to whom, when your business is open, who you’ll hire, and every other decision that drives your business’ growth.

However, once you map out your growth plan, you can assign other people to execute it. You don’t personally have to write every blog post, for example. You don’t have to package every shipment. You don’t have to take every sales call, depending on how large your team is, of course.

As you grow, you can bring on freelancers or retain firms to fill in gaps so that you can step back from those activities and leave them in the hands of trained professionals.

Build a team

The more you delegate tasks to others, the more you discover that there are other individuals even more capable than you are to manage those tasks.

You may start adding workers faster.

Of course, the more new hires you bring in, the more you may disrupt the culture you’ve established. So don’t hire too quickly. Be methodical, adding new capabilities only when you recognize that your company’s growth is being hampered by a lack of support staff.

Early on, each new personality has the potential to wreak havoc on what you’ve built, so hire slowly and only after you’ve confirmed others can see that person fits your company culture.

It is much easier to teach skills than it is to mold someone to fit your corporate culture. Let your other workers help decide who will be the best addition to your staff.

Set boundaries

As your business scales, you’ll need to say “no” more often to ensure your business doesn’t overrun your life. To maintain time for non-business activities, you’ll need to set boundaries.

Some entrepreneurs use time blocking to plan how they will spend each hour of their day, starting with carving out time for family and friends. For example, if you are a volunteer one day a week at a dog rescue, you’ll want to start planning your week by putting that on your schedule first. Whatever is going on in the business that day will need to stop or get put aside once your volunteer time arrives.

Or maybe you’ve committed to your partner or children that you’ll be home for dinner each night. That means leaving work by a certain hour each day and not scheduling meetings that go past that to protect that time.

If your biggest challenges come from clients rather than family, you may need to alert customers that you are not available to them after a certain hour of the day or on weekends. Then, don’t respond to their texts or answer their calls. Demonstrate that you have prioritized personal time.

Carve out and then protect time each day for people and activities that have nothing to do with work. 

Choose new opportunities carefully

It is easy to get pulled in the direction of growth for revenue’s sake.

The faster you see your sales increase, the more growth you want to achieve. However, not all growth is good growth, and not all opportunities are a good fit for your business.

Sure, they may generate revenue, but if they will stress your employees or require you to provide more hands-on oversight, they may not be worth it.

The whole concept of scaling is that your business will grow without requiring more of your direct involvement. Don’t go backward just to boost revenue. It’s not sustainable long-term.

Look for passive income opportunities more than anything, and say no to opportunities that will only propel you forward if you invest more of your personal time.

That won’t support work-life balance.

Commit to regular self-care

Your overall well-being will determine how successful your business is.

As a leader, if you are wiped out, stressed, and stretched to the limit, your business cannot grow, and it certainly cannot scale.

To be able to lead a fast-growth venture, you need to be clear-headed, energized, and optimistic. You won’t be that if you’re spending too many hours at work and not taking care of yourself.

On a daily basis, make sure you are building breaks into your schedule so that you get up and walk around and have conversations with other people. A business is a community, and you should aim to be part of it.

Schedule time to take care of yourself, whether that’s a regular workout, massage, or nap. You know what your body needs to perform at its best, so make sure your schedule is built around that.

Be realistic with yourself about what you can get done in a day, a week, or a quarter. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

Creating a business life that supports a personal life is the only way to scale effectively.

If you’ve taken any time to look at the caliber of WomensNet grant winners, you know they’re impressive.

The monthly Start-Up, Business-Specific, and Amber Grant award winners all run businesses that meet a market need and demonstrate skill, perseverance, innovation, and dedication.

If that sounds like you, you’re on the right path to being seriously considered for a grant.

Within the WomensNet Facebook community, we often receive questions about how winners are chosen, why one entrepreneur is selected over another, and what applicants can do to improve their odds of success.

So, here are some tips on what many winning applicants have in common:

These attributes are not necessarily requirements, but they signal to the advisory board that if given funds, the entrepreneur has a solid plan to use that money wisely to start or grow her business.

That’s a core question: How will grant money help you grow your business?

If you’re looking for money to repay a large loan, catch up on months of back rent, or otherwise “save” your business, applying is not the best use of your time or money.

Grants are generally not given to companies struggling to survive unless the difficulties are related to a larger issue, such as a pandemic, for example.

However, if your business growth is limited by something you lack but can control — such as equipment, space, raw materials, or personnel — a grant might be able to fill the gap.

What We Look For

These are some things our advisors look for when evaluating applications:

1. Share a clear vision for your business

We love to see companies created out of a passion or skill, to leverage the entrepreneur’s talents, interests, or experience.

Make it clear what your business is offering, why it’s important to you, and the market you’ve identified as needing or wanting what you’re providing. Quantify that market as best as you can.

Businesses that exist “to empower other women” or to serve the local community aren’t providing a specific enough reason for their existence, nor a path to profitability. The vision for what the business is selling is unclear in these instances and are, for that reason, not as strong as it could be.

2. Tell us why people want your product or service

Within the application, we want to see that the entrepreneur has a fair idea there is demand for their product or service. This can consist of market research results if the business is not yet up-and-running or it could be historical revenue data the business owner shares to show rising sales.

We’ll even accept anecdotal evidence. We get a lot of “I took my product to a local market, and it sold out in one day” type of stories in winning applications.  Anything you can show in support of that, of course, would be a welcome addition.

3. Must have a motivated business owner

Although this is more nuanced, our advisory board is also looking for indications that you’re more than capable of running a successful business. To support this, you could talk about your track record of success thus far within the business or in previous businesses you’ve been involved with.

But also tell us why the business is special to you. Was it inspired by a family member? Is it the result of your love for the product or a discovery you made on your own? What’s behind your excitement for your business and your commitment to its success?

4. What do you plan to do with the grant money if you win?

Applicants who can provide clear explanations regarding how they would use the grant funding — including dollar amounts or ranges — are on the right track. State the planned use and the total cost.

Some applicants note their plan to use the funds for X, such as a new piece of equipment, for example.

But if the grant won’t cover the majority of that expense, you need to make clear how you’ll make up the difference. Asking for $10,000 to use toward a $70,000 machine, for example, when you don’t yet have the remaining $60,000 is a hard sell.

Conversely, if the grant will more than cover your primary investment, also disclose how you’ll spend what is left over. For example, if you want $3,000 to print up another run of profitable workbooks or planners, what will you do with the remaining $7,000? Tell us.

4. Reapply when…

Another question we hear repeatedly has to do with reapplying for a WomensNet grant.

Your best bet is to apply again when something has significantly changed for the positive with your business.

In fact, we typically don’t allow women entrepreneurs to apply more than once a quarter because we want to see progress. A positive significant change might include a big customer contract that you could use help fulfilling, a dramatic increase in ongoing revenue due to a new initiative, or an award won that is driving more traffic to your website, as examples.

As the FAQs on the website explains, “We’re looking for qualities like passion, business savvy, and vision. Women who believe in what they’re doing tend to make us believers, too.”

There are currently around 505 million podcast listeners in the world, with that figure increasing steadily by about 20 percent per year. There were 3.2 million podcasts as of early 2024 and more than 150 million podcast episodes. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts are currently the top three platforms from which listeners stream their podcasts of choice.

The point of sharing all these numbers is to make you aware of the huge opportunity podcasts provide as a marketing tool. Whether you are planning to start your own podcast or not – which is a lot of work – you can still explore opportunities to be interviewed on existing podcasts.

Being interviewed on podcasts whose target audience aligns with yours can be an effective way to boost your visibility and awareness. As a guest, you also benefit from the enhanced credibility and authority of being perceived as the expert.

However, given the vast number of podcasts out there it may seem overwhelming to try to identify those that would be appropriate for you. Fortunately, there are a number of services and communities that can help.

Finding Podcast Guest Opportunities

Although you may want to start by casting a wide net to get onto any podcast, that’s only a good idea early in your podcast career. 

Gaining experience on podcasts that your target audience is unlikely to hear could be a smart strategy to become comfortable with the medium. That way, if you make a mistake or say something embarrassing, it’s unlikely to hurt you.

Some of the most popular free and low-cost tools to explore include:

MatchMaker.fm

Jon Coogan, host of Mindset Mavericks, describes MatchMaker.fm as “user-friendly…where both hosts and guests connect.” Guests can create a profile to showcase their expertise and to identify podcasts that may be looking for experts like them. You can try it free for 30 days and then pay $15/month if you opt to subscribe.

Coogan says that he has used MatchMaker.fm to expand his reach as a guest. “By searching for podcasts that aligned with my expertise and experience, I connected with the host of Leaders in Disguise,” he said. “They invited me to their video studio for an in-person interview, where I shared insights from my entrepreneurial journey. The episode lifted my profile and introduced me to a wider audience.”

PodcastGuests.com

The free version of PodcastGuests.com offers registrants a weekly newsletter service that shares podcast guest opportunities. There is also a paid directory available, to make you findable by podcast hosts.

PodMatch

“While PodMatch isn’t free, it’s a highly targeted tool that’s worth considering if you’re serious about getting on podcasts,” Coogan says. “It matches hosts and guests based on interests and expertise, saving you time and helping you find the perfect fit with minimal effort.” The current cost starts at $29/month, though there is an upgrade available if you want more exposure to potential podcast hosts.

Facebook Groups

Sheena Yap Chan, host of The Tao of Self-Confidence podcast, recommends joining free and paid Facebook groups dedicated to connecting hosts and guests; the hashtags #beaguest and #needaguest are the ones to search for, she says.

The top three she recommends are:

Need a Guest – has 39.9k members 

Podcast Collaborate – has 18.6k members 

Podcast Guest Connection – has 12.8k members

Participation in these groups has netted her invitations to be a guest on other podcasts.

TikTok

Coogan says that “TikTok has been a surprisingly effective tool for connecting with podcast hosts. Many share videos about their show and the type of guests they’re looking for, using hashtags like #PodcastGuest or #PodcastOpportunity. He recommends creating short videos to introduce yourself and your perspective.

LinkedIn

While you’re checking out TikTok for podcasts, don’t overlook LinkedIn, where podcast hosts also share information about their shows and the types of guests they’re looking for. Since LinkedIn is a business platform, you’re more likely to find business-related podcasts.

A Low-Cost Marketing Tool

All of these tools and platforms can help you zero in on podcasts that may be looking for someone with your expertise, background, or experience, but you need to be clear about what will benefit you most. Which topics do you want to be known for? In which industries do you want to make headway? How do you want people to think of you?

These are all important questions to be clear about before you start researching and applying to be booked as a podcast guest. Despite the fact that most guest opportunities are free, podcasts can be powerful tools for shining a spotlight on you and your business.

As 2024 winds down and we look ahead to 2025, attracting new business opportunities is likely at the top of your to-do list. Creating new revenue streams, finding new clients, and building new products are just some of the ways you can generate more business next year.

But before you start bringing in new business, set aside some time to clear out the clutter that is no longer serving you. Believe it or not, taking action to get rid of physical clutter can have a major positive impact on your business.

Benefits of Decluttering

In addition to the positive energetic boost many New Age practitioners say accompanies clearing out clutter, there are several other benefits of decluttering:

Save time

The less stuff you have to sort through to track down a misplaced object or document, the less time you’ll waste on a daily basis. Stephanie Winston, author of The Organized Executive, says that managers waste about an hour a day looking for things; that’s 12.5 percent of a 40-hour week!

Save money

Extrapolating from Winston’s hour-a-day wasted looking for lost things, that equates to more than $8,000 if you’re paying yourself a $65,000 annual salary. 

On top of all that lost time, there is money spent replacing that thing you’ve been searching for. Can’t locate your calculator? After a certain amount of time looking, it’s likely you’ll just place an Amazon order to deliver a new one tomorrow. But all those duplicates add up and can cost you serious money.

Finally, losing track of bills also costs money. According to Harris Interactive, 23 percent of adults claim they pay bills late and incur fees and penalties because they lose them. Business owners who pay bills late can see their buying power decline and the cost of borrowing money increase.

Save space

The more extra stuff your business owns or stores, the more you’ll pay for space, either to squeeze in more equipment or more storage. Conversely, the more clutter you can clear out, the lower your space requirements and the more money you can save. 

Do you really need an entire room filled with filing cabinets, for example? If not, can you repurpose that space to prevent your company from outgrowing it too soon? Look for ways to reclaim space previously taken up by stuff from which your business isn’t benefiting.

And if you do clear furniture, décor, and old office equipment out, you can claim a tax deduction if you donate it to an eligible nonprofit. That way you’re also reducing your tax bill come April.

Improve focus

Clearing out unneeded items in your office can have a positive effect on your ability to concentrate. Fewer visual distractions improve the ability to focus, according to Psychology Today.

If you can see all the potential benefits of decluttering but aren’t sure how to begin, follow these steps to get started.

First steps

No matter how bad your clutter situation is, you can make a serious dent by following this advice:

Start small. Pick a small space to work on, rather than getting overwhelmed by tackling too much. For example, clear out a desk drawer or the top of a filing cabinet rather than attempting to clear out your entire office in one fell swoop. Keep the task manageable.

Single touch. Commit to touching each item only once. It has been said that clutter is caused by delayed decision-making, so when you pick up something, decide what needs to happen to it and then move it there. If you’re going through paperwork, for example, does that paper need to be filed, tossed, shredded, handed off to someone else, or acted on? If action is required, set it aside in a pile or file for that purpose. Otherwise, put it where it belongs or give it to someone who can take care of it.

Digitize. Where paper is concerned, consider digitizing it to be able to find it faster in electronic form and reduce the amount of space it takes up. You can purchase a physical scanner or download a scanner app to your phone to convert hard copies to electronic form.

Keep going. Once one space is cleared, move on to the next.

Decluttering is never really done, since there is often more debris and litter that can be eliminated. Make decluttering an ongoing process; you could make it a quarterly task. 

And as new items enter your workspace, commit to removing an equal number of items to keep clutter at bay. That means every new book, notebook, or pair of scissors requires that an existing one be removed. The same goes for furniture, wall hangings, and other décor items.

Clearing clutter from your office or workspace will make it easier to find things, prevent spending money on duplicates, and improve your ability to focus and think strategically – all of which will help you become a more successful business owner.

We reached out to TWO of our 2023 Year-End Grant Winners, asking each to share the business lessons they’ve learned from the past year:

 

Nikita Seal and Sallie Plumley both answered the call! Below are the answers they gave us.  Please give it a quick read. We’re sure there are some nuggets of wisdom you can apply to your business.

 

	First, we’d like to reintroduce you to Nikita Seal with ZZ’z Ice Cream Puffs, our 2023 Year-End Amber Grant winner.

What advice would you give to a new business owner in the food truck industry?

Entering this food truck industry can be daunting, but I’ve learned that kindness and camaraderie within the food truck community make all the difference. To succeed, prioritize customer service – treat every customer like family. Focus on a smaller, curated menu for quality control and efficiency.

Additionally, build strong relationships with fellow food truck owners, vendors, and suppliers. Stay adaptable, define your niche, and maintain organized operations. Engage with your community through social media and events, and don’t forget self-care.

At ZZ’s Ice Cream Puffs, we’re passionate about spreading joy through our treats. Remember, kindness, quality, and community are key to success in this industry.

Where do you struggle most to manage your work-life balance in the food truck industry, and how have you overcome it?

In the food truck industry, weekends are prime business hours, which often conflicts with family time. As a mom, I struggled to balance work and parenting, especially during the early days. With my food truck booked on weekends, it was challenging to spend quality time with my kids.

However, entering our fourth year, I’ve established a loyal, trustworthy, and reliable team. This has allowed me to step away and prioritize family time. Previously, I made sure to be spontaneous with my kids, maximizing our time together whenever possible.

To overcome the guilt of missing weekends, I communicated openly with my children, explaining that ‘mommy’s busy’ phase was temporary. I promised them that soon I’d have more time to devote to them, and now that’s becoming a reality.

Key strategies that helped me achieve better work-life balance include:

– Building a dependable team
– Setting clear boundaries
– Prioritizing quality over quantity time with my kids
– Open communication with my family
– Self-care and flexibility

It’s not perfect, but with time, intention, and support, I’ve found a more sustainable balance between growing ZZ’s Ice Cream Puffs and nurturing my family.

 

	Second, we’d like to reintroduce you to Sallie Plumley from Sallie Plumley Studios, our January 2023 Skilled Trades Grant winner and one of our 2023 Year End Grant winners.

What advice would you give to a new business owner in your industry?

What was the most important lesson you’ve learned in your business?

In your industry, where do you struggle most to manage your work-life balance? How have you overcome it?

I doubt this is industry-specific, but finding a work-life balance as a mom is challenging. I find it helpful to practice time blocking and batch work so that I can ensure I get my work finished in a timely manner.

Whether you sell products or services, the last few weeks of the year are an opportunity to profit from prospects and customers who are in a buying mood. Even in business-to-business (B2B) sales, there is a season to purchasing and your previous clients may have money to spend in their budget before December 31.

Although you may want to use the opportunity to connect with new customers, you would be wise to focus mainly on people who have bought from you in the past. Research shows that previous customers spend 67 percent more than new customers, so you’ll make more money if you heap attention on your existing customer base.

So, what can you do to encourage more buying? If you have a storefront, here are some ideas:

Host in-store events

They can be holiday-themed or not, but give your shoppers another reason to stop by. It could be an evening with a charitable focus –— a percentage of the night’s sales go to a deserving organization –— or a demonstration by an artist, or even a trunk show. If you sell books, you could have an author come by for a talk. Sell cooking-related utensils? Have a chef come in to host a quick cooking class. Get creative and then invite your entire mailing list to come.

Make a big deal of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday

Since consumers are already on alert for great deals the weekend after Thanksgiving, give them something to look forward to. It could be big discounts that decrease each hour during the day. It could be a free swag bag for coming in and making a purchase. You could bring in a limited-edition product to sell on those days. And on top of that, spiff up your sales space. Go all in on holiday spirit with decorations in the windows, hanging from the ceiling, and throughout your tabletop displays. Remind buyers that it’s gift-giving season.

Throw in some freebies

Shoppers love to get a deal, so make yours enticing without breaking the bank. Depending on your price points, you could offer free gift wrap with every purchase. Or throw in a small sample you’ve received from one of your suppliers. You could offer discounts during slow times of the day, like first thing in the morning. Or provide free shipping for orders over a certain amount. The better the deal customers feel they are getting, the more buying they’ll do.

Incorporate video marketing

We all know that video now dominates social media, which suggests that people want more of it. Take your cue and start recording related to your business. Show behind-the-scenes snippets of employees restocking shelves or wrapping and shipping gifts. Interview employees about their favorite Christmas memories, or about their favorite product in the store. Or just shoot video quick vignettes showing sections of the store, in the hopes of catching their eye. Curated by Justin Interiors in Webster, New York does an excellent job with this technique on Instagram.

Branch out to Pinterest

If you aren’t already active on Pinterest, where shoppers go for holiday inspiration, consider investing some time on it this year.  Pinterest is the social media platform where consumers turn for ideas on how to do things better, whether that’s decorating their home, organizing their desk, managing projects, painting their walls, cooking a Hannukah treat, or finding an outfit for a friend’s wedding. Not only that, Pinterest users spend more at the holidays – as much as 40 percent more, according to Retail Insider. It is all visual and a great place for you to be to showcase your skills and wares.

Leverage email marketing

If you have a way to reach your customer base by email, use it during the holiday season. Send out thank you messages around Thanksgiving, then follow it up with gift ideas to help your customers with their shopping –— even better if you can customize it based on past purchases. Highlight new merchandise as it comes in and keep everyone up to date on special events and new offers, like free expedited shipping later in the month of December.

But even if you aren’t a retailer or don’t have a physical storefront, there are plenty of things you can do to encourage your clientele to buy.

Send schedule reminders

Not everyone realizes how crazy busy November and December are, especially in businesses having to do with festivities. So, if you’re a holiday light decorator, party planner, caterer, musician, hair stylist, limo company, freelance bartender, or business owner used to seeing a big jump in demand at the end of the year, ask your past customers if they want to make arrangements for your services now, to be sure they can get on your schedule when they need you. Also let clients know about your holiday schedule and when your offices will be closed, so they don’t miss important deadlines. These reminders will be much appreciated if your customer has lost track of time. It will also help you better plan your schedule and offer alternatives to previous customers you want to continue to serve.

Host a holiday gathering

Getting your staff mixing and mingling with satisfied clients helps strengthen your relationship and forge new ones. It also leaves everyone feeling cheerful and positive about your business, which can last into the new year. If you hold your soiree off-site, at a gallery, museum, or club, rather than your offices, you may find clients more enticed to stop by because of the novelty of the location.

Help clients plan ahead

If you have a client you’ve been working with and they have a stated need for your services in the new year, ask if they’d like to pay for it in the current year, to help make full use of their current year’s budget. Pre-paying is always good for your cash flow and can help your customer use up this year’s budget while lightening the financial load next year –— which is always a good thing.

Say thank you

Before the end of the year, send a personal note to let your current clients know how much you enjoy working with them. Go above and beyond simply signing your name on a standard holiday card though –— write a few sentences letting them know how much you value their business and how proud you are of the work you did together during the year. Be sincere and specific. You might also consider sending along a small token of your appreciation, such as a nice box of truffles, or fruit –— Harry & David Royal Riviera pears are a popular choice –— or an item related to your services, such as a book. Check to be sure there are no limits on what you can spend on a gift, however, since some organization prohibit their employees from receiving gifts valued at over $20.

Check in by phone

Since so few people use the phone anymore, you’ll stand out by reaching out to say hi, check in on how your clients are doing, tell them how much you appreciate their business, and ask if there’s anything you can do to help them. Even if they don’t have something to hand off to you work-wise, you’ll be top-of-mind for a while because you bothered to pick up the phone.

In the retail industry alone, holiday sales in 2023 totaled $964.4 billion. Make sure you give your company the best chance of claiming some of all the money that will be spent by individuals and businesses in the next few weeks.

Now that we are officially in the last quarter of 2024, some companies can expect an uptick in revenue over the next several weeks. 

We’re heading into the big season for Christmas tree farmers, snowplow services, event planners, caterers, accountants, hair stylists, among others. And even if your business isn’t typically affected by holiday activities, you may still see a surge if potential clients are suddenly feeling pressure to wrap projects up by year-end.

However, year-end is also the off-season for some businesses, like swimming pool maintenance services, seasonal ice cream shops, landscapers, and New England beaches. It’s a time to regroup and recharge while the weather cools off.

No matter which season you’re in – crazy busy or cautiously quiet – if you’d like to take back control of demand for your products and services, there are things you can do to find and connect with new customers.

Ideally, you have a process in place that ensures you’re always promoting your business and finding new prospects, but even if you don’t, you can choose now to ramp up your marketing and promotional activities.

Get clear about your ideal customer

The first step to finding more customers is to define who they are. 

Don’t assume that everyone is your target customer – that’s not true.

There are certain types of people or businesses that are the best fit for what you offer. Those are the ones you’ll want to invest your resources in attracting.

For example, if you run a pet grooming business in Brooklyn, New York, pet owners in California or Kansas should not be your target because they are unlikely to need your on-site services. Likewise, if you own an interior decorating business in Ann Arbor, Michigan, you should focus the majority of your time and attention on homeowners in the surrounding area and not on, say, homeowners in Dallas, Texas.

Now, the only exception here is if you run an online business and can just as easily serve people in Atlanta as clients in Seattle or Toronto. Then, location is not as important a factor.

There may be other demographics you’ll want to pay attention to, however, such as age, gender, household income, type of business, age of any children, or type of car owned. Which factors are most relevant will depend on the type of product or service you sell.

However, before you start investing more of your money in attracting new business, be sure you know how to find your best prospects. You’ll waste valuable resources if you don’t.

Identify how to find them

Study your best customers so that you understand them. What interests them and, therefore, where are they likely to spend their time?

When you know that, you can start to present them with information about your company that may pique their interest. But before you start designing ads, you need to figure out how to get in front of them, either in-person or online.

For example, if your clientele consists of high-net-worth individuals who golf, finding ways to connect with them through country clubs and golf courses could be useful. Or, if your ideal customers are new moms, marketing through pediatricians, diaper services, or Mommy and Me classes could be a smart approach.

Take your description of your ideal client and list what they are likely to be interested in, where they spend their free time, and who they might be paying attention to. Those are your clues for where to invest your marketing.

These could include:

• Physical locations – grocery stores, libraries, hospitals, schools, hair salons
• Local online platforms – Nextdoor, Thumbtack 
• Social media platforms – LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok
• Facebook groups – search for keywords associated with your business to find them
• Newsletters – free and paid; many have advertising opportunities to explore
• Community groups – such as Moms in Motion, travel soccer, religious organizations
• Volunteer opportunities – local clean-up groups, trustees, food cupboards
• Classes – free community-sponsored courses, recreation center-based, or even college
• Trade shows – local, regional, or national
• Civic organizations – Rotary, Kiwanis, Shriners
• Events – community parties, festivals, galas, running races

Make your own list of where you are likely to come in contact with your potential clients.

Share your message

Finally, to find new customers you need to tell them what you offer. 

That is, you need to package your products or services in such a way that it will be clear to your ideal customers why they need to buy from you.

In your message, you’ll want to emphasize the benefits of doing business with you, rather than the features or description. Meaning, how will they be better off thanks to your product or service? Will they save time, look better, lose weight, make more money, or something else?

As you’re sharing information about your business, whenever possible include testimonials from satisfied customers. You may even want to feature them prominently in your promotions. Testimonials and endorsements give you credibility and enhance your trustworthiness.

Be aware that you’re going to need to present your information more than once for prospects to consider doing business with you. Current estimates are that it takes at least seven exposures, which is referred to as the Marketing Rule of 7.

Which means that you can’t just buy one ad, send out one newsletter, or put a poster in one place and expect that it will yield results. You need to be consistently spreading the word about your business.

The power of focus

Although finding new customers is a numbers game, it is much better to focus on a few marketing channels than to try to do all the things. You’ll get better results by, say, investing time on one social media platform versus three, or buying ads in one newsletter for the next year instead of one ad in 10 different newsletters.

Rank the places where you’re likely to come in contact with your ideal customers and start at the top. Invest time and attention there, until you’re confident everyone there has heard about or seen information about your business more than seven times. Then move on to your second-best potential source.

Over time you’ll be able to determine which methods work best and you can spend more on those activities and less on the ones that aren’t yielding results.

Start today so that you have a chance to drum up business this quarter.

In a nutshell, yes.

Now, exactly how you should use AI will vary by industry, even as the technology continues to evolve and improve, but refusing to at least explore what AI can do may end up stalling your company’s growth.

Some of you may be asking what, specifically, AI is and does.

AI is a type of software program that right now is frequently faster at handling repetitive tasks or for quickly tracking down publicly available data than humans are. You can use AI to automate processes that were previously manual, freeing up time to handle activities that require more brainpower, such as strategizing or problem-solving.

Some of the best current uses of AI include:

Customer service

Introducing chatbots and pop-up windows to answer customer or prospect questions on your website isn’t new, but as AI becomes more robust, so too do chat programs that answer the most commonly asked questions. 

With access to all the information on your company website as well as data on the back end, chatbots can now confirm that orders have been shipped, research policies, or gather feedback, all without human intervention. They can serve customers while you’re engaged in higher-value tasks.

You can also design the process to allow chatbots to refer questions to live humans when AI doesn’t have access to the information your prospect needs.

Scheduling

Quirks reports that 60% of small businesses use online calendars, which means there is a big opportunity to rely on AI to manage your time. 

Tools like Calendly and Motion help you share your availability with team members, clients, and prospects. No more time-consuming back-and-forth emails checking everyone’s availability.

You can also use scheduling software to track where you’re spending your time online. RescueTime can provide reports on how productive you’ve been, breaking down how much time you spent on certain documents, within certain apps, or on certain websites.

Financial management

If you currently pay a human bookkeeper to review your income and expenses regularly in order to prepare your books for tax time, you now have the option to automate that whole process as well. 

Online bookkeeping programs, such as Bench or Bookkeeper360, allow you to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, lines of credit, and any other financial instruments and have AI routinely categorize and aggregate all of your financial details for easy processing for taxes.

Hiring

New AI-powered hiring tools can take care of the first round of qualifying job applicants, by reviewing submitted resumes and determining which candidates may be a fit and which are too big a stretch. 

By setting up keywords you want the program to watch for, you can quickly separate the high-potential applicants from those who lack any relevant experience.

Content creation

One of the biggest applications of AI is for content creation, to create from scratch blog posts, articles, web copy, white papers, and other written materials. AI can be extremely fast at generating documents, which is certainly appealing, but it can also be wrong (AI hallucinations are when the program makes information up and presents it as fact.)

For that reason, the best uses of AI for content creation at the moment include generating everything except the body copy. Meaning, use it to create potential titles, headlines, and/or to generate a potential outline – but don’t use it to write the blog post or article. That’s the piece you’ll need to create yourself to avoid the possibility of either plagiarism or fiction being inserted without your knowledge.

Some of the most popular AI tools for content creation right now are ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude.

Then editing tools like Grammarly help by pointing out grammatical or spelling errors within your draft.

You can also use AI to generate illustrations to accompany your written work, though since you can’t copyright it, be aware that you can’t claim ownership.

Audio transcription and summaries

As the use of video conference technology has become the standard in businesses today, transcription tools can do everything from turning audio into text to summarizing meeting notes and even developing action items to assign to participants. Transcription tools like Rev and Otter are now commonly used for the quick conversion of audio files to text.

AI and other machine learning tools are increasingly being incorporated into work processes, to automate tasks that don’t require human involvement. It can also be used to process data, such as statistics, to reveal answers faster.

If you’re looking for ways to wring more minutes out of your busy day, consider exploring how AI tools can assume some of your workload.

You’ve heard me talk about “publicity” and the positive impact it can have on your business before, but I really want you to spend time now learning more about it. 

Publicity – also known as earned media – is that free media exposure you get when you’re quoted in the press. It could be an interview for a(n):

• Radio talk show
• TV news or talk show
• Magazine 
• Newspaper
• Online media outlet or content site 
• Blog
• Podcast

When you’re quoted by the press, you get an authority boost. That makes publicity more powerful than advertising and other paid-for marketing tactics. 

People are smart enough to know that journalists are selective about who they use as sources. So, if a reporter chose you, you must know what you’re talking about, they presume.

But how do you get that free media attention, whether your market is local or national? 

Here are four easy and effective ways to do that.

Start Locally

Even if your audience isn’t limited to the surrounding area, starting locally with publicity when it’s a new tactic for you is a good idea. You’ll discover what resonates with the press while gaining interview experience in a more forgiving marketplace.

Start by researching your local media outlets

In most areas, these include some or all of these: 

• Daily newspaper
• Weekly community newspapers
• City business journal
• Radio stations
• TV stations
• Community bloggers
• Local women’s magazines
• Regional parenting publications

After you’ve identified your local media outlets, read, watch, and listen to them so you get a sense of what is and isn’t appropriate for them. 

What kinds of articles do the daily and weekly newspapers use? In fact, weekly newspapers are typically very receptive to information they can just copy, paste, and use, and are well-written, too. 

Do the radio stations have talk shows with guests? Do the TV stations have early morning or noon news casts that feature in-studio interviews with community residents? 

Studying how each media outlet handles news and information helps you figure out where you might fit in at each. 

Next, figure out your “news hook” – your angle. Your “hook” is what makes you or your topic newsworthy or interesting. 

You won’t get very far with “local woman starts home-based business,” but winning a grant could get you publicity, particularly with a weekly newspaper or a local women’s magazine. 

Perhaps you’re collaborating with another business to host a community public safety event or nonprofit fundraiser. Maybe you’ve developed breakthrough technology that you can demonstrate. 

Think about what’s happening in your business that might be interesting to the community at large, especially if it’s something visual that would attract TV news cameras. 

Once you’ve figured out your topic, determine who to contact. In most cases with local media outlets, you want:

• Radio talk show: producer or host
• TV talk show: producer
• TV news: assignment editor
• Magazine: editor
• Newspaper: section editor or “beat” reporter (education, food, etc.)
• Community blog: blogger/blog owner

Once you know your news hook or angle, which outlets it’s appropriate for, and who to contact there, you “pitch” the idea to them via email. Explain your idea, why their audience will be interested, and provide relevant information that will help them decide it’s a good fit. That can include providing other sources to interview if you’re pitching a newspaper or magazine feature article.

Subscribe to Services That Help journalists Find Interview Sources

Several free services help journalists find sources to interview and quote in articles and broadcast segments. Some of the most popular include:

• Source of Sources
• Qwoted
• Connectively 

They are one of the easiest – if not the easiest – ways to get national publicity. 

Here’s how they work: For most of them, after creating a free account, you receive an email listing “queries” from journalists, writers, bloggers, etc. Queries outline what they’re working on and the information they need from potential sources like you. 

The queries come from a wide range of media outlets, podcasts, and bloggers. For example, one of the services recently sent an email with requests from MarthaStewart.com, Family Business Magazine, and Business Insider, among others. 

Here are a few tips for responding appropriately to queries: 

• Be selective about those you respond to. If you don’t fit the description in the query, or you “kind of” know about the topic but “not really,” responding will only waste your time. 
• Don’t use AI to write your response. AI responses are shallow, impersonal, often inaccurate, and generally useless. If you can’t respond from your own knowledge and experience, don’t respond at all. 
• Respond to queries quickly. Some journalists will stop reading responses when they believe they have enough sources to proceed. Others will wait and review all of them. You never know which is which, so make an effort to show up in their inbox sooner rather than later.

If you’re the type of business owner who prefers to outsource this type of work, you can pay a service to do it for you. Costs range from $1,380 to be quoted four times to more than $4,000 a month for five. 

If you are budget-conscious and prefer to be more hands on, you can find more affordable DIY resources for mastering the art of the query response.

Write and Distribute a Publicity Tip Sheet

A tip sheet is a type of press release that offers tips or advice in a bulleted or numbered format.

Like a press release, it’s written like a news story so that a media outlet or blogger can run it as is. No additional research or writing is necessary.

Tip sheet elements include: 

• Attention-getting headline that includes the number of tips
• Summary first paragraph
• Your expert quote
• Sentence introducing the tips
• Short tips presented as bulleted or numbered points

Media outlets, especially newspapers and magazines, like tip sheets because they can pull out just one or two tips to fill space. They also run them as short articles or use them as a starting point for longer feature stories.

Radio stations share the advice in snippets or, like TV talk shows, build author interviews around the tip sheet topic. 

Bloggers run them as new posts because tip sheets give them useful information they don’t have to write themselves.

Blog Regularly

Many reporters, writers, and podcasters use Google to find sources to interview. 

Search results often include blog posts on the topic referenced in the search terms. That means the more you blog on your business’s area of expertise or product line, the more likely your content is to turn up in their search results. 

Here’s how you can leverage your blog’s content to get publicity:

• Make sure your email address and telephone number are on your website and easy to find. More and more business owners don’t have this information on their sites, but nothing says, “I’m not interested in talking to you about what I know” quicker than no contact page, or, almost as bad, just “Follow me on Instagram!” on the contact page.
• Respond to media inquiries quickly. Keep media folks from moving on to someone else by prioritizing responding to these calls and emails. 

Publicity begets publicity

When you’ve been quoted a couple of times, something interesting often happens:

• Journalists who see you’ve been quoted before are more likely to contact you for an interview. That’s partly because another reporter has vetted you, but also because it’s clear that you’re willing and able to talk about your topic.
• You and your business show up higher in search engine results when journalists are looking for people like you to interview.
• You earn the right to share media outlet, podcast, etc., logos on your website in an “as seen on” banner. That’s impressive social proof that you’re credible and authoritative. 

Don’t wait to pursue publicity. Let it help you reach more of the right customers so your business grows.