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 owners who have had success with email marketing for specific tips for crafting a successful campaign, as well as sharing our own experiences. Here is what we learned:

Understand your target audience. “Taking the time to understand your audience facilitates tailored messaging to each unique persona in your overall target audience,” says Starin Strategies founder and CEO Christene Starin. “Understanding your audience includes identifying their pain points, goals, values, and ultimately, what uniquely resonates with them regarding your services or offerings.” That information should then drive the type of content you share via email.

Craft a compelling subject line. When an email hits your reader’s inbox, they have limited information with which to decide whether to open and read it. The subject line can be a make-or-break factor, so make sure it is short, catchy, and interesting. Don’t try to be so clever that the recipient has no idea what you’re talking about, however.

Include a call-to-action (CTA). “The absolute, most important thing to include in a marketing email is at least one call to action,” says Kate MacDonnell, CMO of Coffee Affection. “A call to action is the point in the email where you are asking the recipient to interact with a hyperlink. It can be a sale for new customers, asking them to sign up for a new subscription, or anything else specific to whatever marketing campaign you’re running,” she says.

Throw in an emoji. MacDonnell also advocates using “one or two well-placed emojis in a subject line of an email.” She has found that “as long as they’re appropriate, emojis are a great eye-catcher and can greatly increase the amount of people who open your emails.”

Use a funnel format for content. “Put the most important points of your email at the top, so that people can quickly see what it’s about. It’s unlikely they will scroll down to find out more if the first few lines don’t interest them,” says Jill Canes, NP, founder and owner of Face Forward Medical Aesthetics.

Keep it short. “Too much content is a big no-no,” says Rachel Renken, content manager for More Naturals. “When it looks too heavy [meaning way too many words on the page], the reader shuts down and moves on to the next email.”

Stick to a schedule. Lindsey Ardmore, founder of Star Tower Systems, recommends “actually sending emails on a dedicated schedule.” Sending out messages whenever the mood strikes you, or on an occasional basis, is not nearly as effective as sending every Thursday, for example. Your fans will come to look forward to it, if you’re consistent with your schedule.

Make sure it’s mobile-friendly. Jeanine Duval, co-founder at Edelwyn, says, “A lot of the people you are emailing will be reading the email on their phone. So make sure that whatever you send is formatted to be readable both on a computer and on a mobile device, as if it requires a lot of effort to read, most people will simply delete your email without reading it.”

Don’t DIY it. Unless you’re technically savvy, it’s likely you’ll save considerable time and money by using an email platform like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. Says Savannah Scott, content and editorial lead at Supergreat, “Platforms like Mailchimp are very user-friendly to make template designs for your company’s newsletter, invitations, or other email marketing outreach.”

With consumers challenged with keeping their email inbox from becoming flooded, you need to be sure that what you’re sending them is worth their time. Keep messages short and attention-worthy, whether that’s a useful tip, a video, or some other idea or piece of information that improves your reader’s personal or business life. That’s how you develop a relationship with your prospects and customers that can yield significant revenue.

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 strong foundation.

The good news is that, despite what it may appear to be, marketing doesn’t have to be complex. You can learn as you go, and there are many great books on the topic that can help you. Of course, there are very general books, including Duct Tape Marketing, by John Jantsch, as well as super niche titles, like The 1 Hour Social Media Plan, by Kelly Smith, or Be Brand Brilliant: It’s All About Instagram Hashtags, by Julie Christie-Clark, and everything in between.

Ten marketing titles worth at least skimming include:

303 Marketing Tips: Guaranteed to Boost Your Business

An oldie but goodie, this book is a treasure trove of short, actionable steps you can take to market your company, written by the former editor of Entrepreneur magazine, Rieva Lesonsky. Those tips include buying radio advertising for less, direct mail tactics, public speaking, networking, and hundreds of others, literally. 

Catapult: A Woman’s Guide to Building a 7-Figure Business

Abbie Widin, PhD combines practical business advice with money mindset guidance in this book, which is designed to help women imagine what a 7-figure business looks like and then leads them through steps to get there. Plenty of bonus materials, which are accessible through links listed at the end of each chapter, are useful supplementary information. The biggest takeaway is that to reach seven figures, you’ll need to take a different approach than you’re currently taking, starting with how you see yourself and your relationship with money.

Company of One

Although Paul Jarvis’ book is considered a book about entrepreneurship, rather than marketing, it is written to help business owners think about how they operate their companies, including the customers they pursue. In that sense, it does touch on marketing and resource allocation to best attract the work you want. Although it is not a marketing how-to guide, it will help you consider whether you need an empire to be successful.

Complete Publicity Plans

Since free publicity is one of the most cost-effective ways of building awareness of your business, you may want to read through Sandra Beckwith’s guide to the many ways of pursuing publicity. From writing pitch emails to press releases and press kits, you’ll find terrific templates for effective pursuit of media coverage. Although the book is a few years old, the strategies and advice are still spot on.

Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing

You’ve probably heard that “Content is king,” in this era of social media. Demand for information has never been higher and shows no sign of slowing. So how can you keep up? Andy Crestodina’s book provides more specific, technical guidance in how to build content that will have an impact, with illustrations and research that back up his suggestions regarding things like  effective subject lines, best time of day for posting, and thank you message length.

Get Clients Now! A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches

For those entrepreneurs who like a step-by-step process with daily action items, CJ Hayden’s book may be for you, especially if you’re a service provider. You’ll find advice about defining your target audience to effective networking strategies and cold calling tips. The action worksheets and downloadable forms help with implementation of Hayden’s strategies.

Getting Business to Come to You

Granted, this marketing guide is more than 20 years old, but that doesn’t mean its principles are any less relevant. Written by the pioneers of the work from home movement, Paul and Sarah Edwards, this is a terrific basic guide to identifying your target customer and helping them find you. The marketing tools covered are simple and inexpensive to use, relying more on traditional methods than digital, due to its publication date.

Mastering Online Marketing

If you know that most of your work is going to originate online, or that you’ll be selling products through a website, you may want to start your reading with Mitch Meyerson’s book on digital marketing. He emphasizes the importance of a good website, how critical a mailing list is, and he reviews some of the basics of online copywriting and web design, to help improve sales conversions.

Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business

Businesses providing a service should take a look at Stephanie Chandler’s guide to dominating your market niche, using online marketing tactics to build a website that establishes credibility and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. Using content creation, social media, and networking tactics, she offers tips for standing out, even in a crowded field.

The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field

The idea that you should figure out what one thing you do better than everyone else, focus your resources on nurturing relationships with your best clients, and weed out those that are unprofitable or no longer a fit for your business is so simple that it’s brilliant. Mike Michalowicz offers guidance based on study of successful pumpkin farmers, which follow this same strategy. And it works.

There are great marketing lessons to be found in these pages, whether you order copies through your local bookstore or check them out for free from your library. You might even decide to listen to the audiobook versions while you commute to client meetings. However you tap into all the great information these authors have shared, you may want to keep a notebook handy so you can jot down notes for how you can apply their wisdom to your own venture.

Small businesses are looking to hire more workers, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report for February 2021. The report found that “56% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in February, up 5 points from January.”

While that’s certainly good news for the economy, many companies are having trouble filling the openings they have. NFIB found that, “Fifty-one percent (91 percent of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no ‘qualified’ applicants for the positions they were trying to fill in February, up 5 points.”

Given that many companies are still working remotely, finding and hiring job applicants is tough right now – even tougher if you want to meet potential hires face-to-face.

When in-person interviewing is not possible or advisable, here are some tips for making the right hire from afar:

Be clear about the job’s requirements. Whether you meet candidates in person or not, you’ll save a lot of time in interviews if you are super clear about what skills you need your new hire to have. What kinds of experiences would be useful? What kind of software should they absolutely know how to use? What kind of personality will be a good fit for the team that person will join? What are the must-haves and what are the nice-to-haves? This will help you attract résumés from people who have the skills you need.

Get on the phone. When you’ve identified some initial applicants who may be a good fit, schedule a 15-minute phone call to get to know them. Ask for more details regarding items on their résumé that interest you, whether that’s about a previous job or their hobbies, and offer to answer questions they may have about your current opening. At the end of the call, ask yourself if this is someone you’d want to work with.

Put together a hiring team. You may want to let the people who will be working alongside your new hire have a say in who they’d prefer to have join their team. That doesn’t mean they get the final say, but having 3-4 people participate in the interview process can give you that much more information and feedback. That’s extremely useful when you’re not able to sit across a desk or table from each applicant.

Get on video. Fortunately, video conferencing tools like Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet make it relatively easy to connect with job applicants visually. Invite applicants for 30-minute video meetings to further explore whether they might be a good fit. Ask the tough questions and push them to demonstrate they’re more than capable of doing what you need them to. Pay attention to body language, tone, eye contact, and self-awareness.

Have the team interview them. You can schedule a group Zoom interviews so that your hiring team has a chance to get to know applicants. What caught their eye on the applicant’s résumé, for example? Or what does the candidate do outside of work? Why are they interested in leaving their current job? Sometimes talking to peers reveals information a potential boss won’t necessarily hear.

Verify their information. Sure, you could call their references, who will no doubt have positive things to say. But you could also take your due diligence a step further and see who you might know in common on LinkedIn or Facebook. Consider reaching out to those people to get a reality check on your potential new hire. Or find a former co-worker at a past job and see how they view their colleague. It’s always better to do more checking up front and be confident in your hiring decision than to wish later that you had invested more time getting to know your candidates.

Compare notes. Some companies use a scorecard that rates each applicant on various aspects important to the company, such as capability, personality, work ethic, and other elements that have been linked to success in the job. Get your hiring team together, in person or virtually, to discuss your observations and ratings.

When you’re confident that you have the right person for the job, make an offer.

Many companies use a 90-day probationary period to give both the employee and the company the opportunity to determine if there’s a good fit. Giving yourself that trial period may also help reduce any anxiety you’re feeling about hiring someone from afar.

Recently, WomensNet Advisory Board member Yamalis Hernandez sat down for an interview with 2020 year-end Amber Grant-winner Vanessa Bouche. You can learn all about her company, Savhera, in the video interview above — or you can browse the transcript below.

A special thanks to Vanessa for her time.

Yamalis Hernandez

Today we are talking to Vanessa Bouche. She’s our $25,000 Amber Grant winner from 2020. And we’re so excited. [Vanessa]…I had the awesome privilege of giving you a call that Saturday morning and letting you know [the news]. That was amazing for me. I’m sure it was amazing for you too.

Vanessa Bouche

I think I screamed and said, ‘you’re making me cry.’ Yeah, it was a huge honor. Huge honor.

Yamalis

We know that you’ve already won the monthly grant award. And now you’ve won the 2020 award. So, our readers are a little familiar with your business, but maybe you can talk a little bit about what you guys do and how you impact the world.

Vanessa

Yes. So Savhera is actually a Hindi word that means new beginning. And it was named by our very first employees in Delhi because this represents a new beginning for them. What Savara does is turn the sales of organic aroma therapy products into jobs for survivors of sex trafficking in both India and the United States. That’s the meat and potatoes of our business: wellness products [and] aroma therapy products that contribute to the holistic wellness, mental wellness, spiritual wellness, physical wellness of our customers, as well as our employees.

Yamalis

One of the things that I’ve read about in your company report was your model around how you restructure your business. You have an acronym, P.I.E.S., that you use. Maybe you can explain a little bit to our listeners about that model.

Vanessa

Because Savhera is a social enterprise and our primary impact is on the people we employ, we have what we call our Human Flourishing Model. It’s P.I.E.S., as you alluded to. And PIES stands for Physical, Intellectual, Economic, and Spiritual growth and development. Because we are all about the employees that we serve and all about human wellness in general, this is a holistic flourishing model for human beings. Not just for survivors attracting, not just for the women that we serve as a company… but for everybody. And the way that the P.I.E.S. model works is essentially looking across all four of those dimensions, physical, intellectual, economic, and spiritual, and saying, we recognize that each of us has health or unhealth in these areas, at an individual level. So the first layer of the P.I.E.S. model is looking across those four dimensions at the individual level.

The second layer of the P.I.E.S. model is looking across those four dimensions at the interpersonal level. Looking more at families and communities. Finally, after your personal needs are met and your family and community needs are being met across those four dimensions, we get out to the macro level, which is really the giving back level. So it’s to say that our needs are met here and here. And how can we then start to give back what we have in the physical realm, intellectual realm, economics realm, and spiritual realm. Because we all have things to contribute to the world. But we’re not able to contribute those things if we’re not healthy ourselves. And if our family’s needs are not being met, secondly. So we want to get everybody to the point where their physical, intellectual, economic and spiritual needs are met, their family needs are met, so they can then contribute to the world the gifts they’ve been given.

The interesting thing about the model is that it’s for all human beings. It doesn’t just apply to survivors of extreme trauma or complex trauma. It really applies to all of us. For me, I recognize personally where I’m at along the P.I.E.S. model on any given dimension on any given day. If I’m under an immense amount of stress, I begin to operate as though I’m in survival mode, as though I’m in fight or flight mode. And so recognizing those things, understanding those things, understanding where the triggers are, where the needs are, that allows you to kind of intervene. And it’s a flexible model. It allows for a lot of fluidity, depending on where anybody is at, at any given point in their life or any given day. And that’s what we use, as kind of a base. We operationalize it with a baseline survey, a baseline assessment where we assess where the employees are at when they first come to Savhera. And then we monitor and evaluate their progress over time on the various dimensions of the P.I.E.S. model. And it’s really cool because of the systematic way of looking at their progress, and then seeing how far they’ve come.

Yamalis

I really love that. Especially the self-awareness incorporated in that model. It really is built to help people grow. We know that you spend quite a bit of time developing your employees, helping them to have life skills, math skills, all sorts of skills. And I really loved that your company principle is not just do no harm. I think you said, “do no harm is not enough; actively do good.” So that’s pretty amazing. How do you consciously run a business and keep in mind your company goals at the same time?

Vanessa

I would love to say that it’s easy, but it’s not. It’s definitely hard to manage knowing that at the end of the day, you do have a bottom line. We are running a business and we are a for-profit entity, while simultaneously not cutting corners on various things. We know that supply chain scrutiny, supply chain transparency, polluting the environment are all ways of cutting corners of getting things done in less time and for less money. I think that the way that you have to approach it is you have to be proactive. It has to be part of your mission and your ethos as a company. You cannot contribute to the world in a reactive way.

You can’t make positive change by being reactive. You have to be proactive. And in order to be proactive, you have to be intentional. And in order to be intentional, you have to have a plan. It has to be part of your strategic plan. It has to be embedded in the very fabric of who you are as a company. And so, it doesn’t just happen automatically. It takes up a lot of thought. It takes a lot of intentionality. It’s difficult. But, I think that the adage “do no harm” is passive, right? It’s like, we’re gonna operate to try not to harm the planet and the environment, but we’re not going to actively do anything to try to benefit it. Whereas [we’re] flipping that on its head and saying, no, that’s actually not good enough.

We have our values, we are a values-driven company. We know who we are, and we don’t want to compromise on our identity as our corporate identity. And so every single decision that we make, it has to align with our values.

If you didn’t have to think about these things, it’s would be much easier to do business. But when you put people first and you honor the planet — because none of us would be alive without the planet — we have to have a healthy planet to continue to sustain humanity globally.

I think that it’s the only way to do it. And I think that it’s the way of the future. I think millennials and gen Z people understand this much, much better than the older generations. And we’re going to start seeing a significant shift in the way business is done. Savhera wants to be in those conversations. Savhera wants to be leading the charge in that way. We want to be on the cutting edge of how to be a business that not just does no harm, but actually does good.

Yamalis

I know that it is. I’ve tried your product myself. And it is a wonderful product; it feels really good knowing the transparency from the beginning, all the way to receiving it. And so that’s a really wonderful story, and it makes me personally feel proud.

So this year we know that COVID has brought many challenges to many businesses, and certainly, as you developed this business from 2018 to now, there were probably other struggles as well. What would you tell other women business owners that are up and coming that have been doing this maybe for a year… what keeps you motivated? What helps you to not throw in the towel?

Vanessa

COVID has presented many, many challenges. So we have nine employees in India, and India had a three month country-wide lockdown for three months. There was zero productivity happening in India over the course of those three months. Of course, a lot of businesses during this time are laying off employees; that’s kind of where you first looked to cut, if you needed to make major cuts to your budget. But we’re a social enterprise that exists to provide jobs. That’s not an area we can cut. I am very proud of the fact that not only did we not cut any employees during that time, but nobody missed a paycheck.

It was very, very difficult. In addition to that, a lot of boutiques were going out of business at the time because nobody was shopping outside of their house. Amazon stock went through the roof, but small businesses — many of them women owned — ended up going out of business because they didn’t necessarily have an online presence. And they couldn’t easily pivot to having a website. And so for us, that meant that all of our wholesale orders tanked. We all of a sudden went from having, in a matter of four months from when we first started Savhera, we had 16 wholesale accounts. And we got those 16 wholesale accounts in our first four months of business. And then COVID hit, and it went to zero. And building back up again has been extremely difficult. So that’s another major challenge that we have faced as a result of COVID.

I know that everybody is motivated by different things. You know, some people are motivated by mission. Some people are motivated by money. I happened to be a mission driven person. I know myself well enough to know that if this company was about money for me, I would have been out a long time ago. I would be like, ‘you know what? This ain’t worth it. Not worth it.’ Okay. Because it’s hard, and everybody that has ever run a startup, knows it is hard. Right? So if it was about that, I would have been out, I wouldn’t have stuck with it, because fundamentally our business has a mission.

And that mission is about women who have very few, if any, other options or alternatives, or a livelihood outside of this job. Because that is the mission, I will not stop. I will not stop working. I will not stop putting one foot in front of the other. I will not stop advocating. I will not stop proclaiming the message of our wellness products and why they’re good for you, why they’re good for our employees. And why they’re good for the planet. Why we’re good for the world. I won’t stop. And I’m not a salesperson. I’m a professor, okay. I like to teach, I don’t do sales, but because the sale for me is not about me. We have an amazing product and we want people to become loyal to Savara because we have amazing products, but we also exist because women need jobs and they need advocacy and they need people to support them.

I believe so deeply in their value as human beings and what they can contribute to the world. I believe that we’re providing jobs to the most resilient human beings on the planet. These are people who have experienced levels of trauma and exploitation that the vast majority of us cannot fathom. They are the most resilient, talented people on the planet. And if you can give them an opportunity to thrive and grow, the potential is endless. So that’s what motivates me. You can tell when I talk about the mission and the purpose of the company, that’s what really gets me excited. That is what motivates me to never give up and to never stop. And has it been hard? Oh my gosh. I can share story after story, after story of why this is so hard.

Any startup is so hard. But I think every individual has to identify for themselves what drives them. And if there’s not an element of what drives them in their business, then the business probably is not going to last. But if there’s an element of what drives you in your business, if your mission is about people and you believe that your product can genuinely help people, then I feel like that’s what allows us to keep going and to keep moving forward. And some people, it is money. They are motivated by making a lot of money. And that’s fine. And those people, hopefully, can eventually find a business model that does get them that money, but you have to know yourself first.

Yamalis

So it sounds like one of the first things any aspiring business owner is to know, is yourself. Knowing your value system. Because that is going to be the thing to keep lighting the fire under you.

Vanessa

Absolutely. It’s so fundamental. And then as you grow as a company and as you have more and more employees, you get to know yourself better and better and better because you get to realize the ugly sides of you, the bruise sides of you. That’s the parts of you that need to acknowledge that you don’t know the answer. Then be open and honest with yourself to continue to get to know yourself better for the safety of your employees and for the sake of the company.

Yamalis

One of the things that we want to know is about competitors. We know the essential oil business is a big business. And through this interview we’ve seen what makes Savhera different. Is there anything else you’d like to add in terms of what puts you in a special place?

Vanessa

You’re absolutely right. It is a pretty saturated market. A lot of people know kind of who the biggest players are in that market. So we are different in a variety of ways. So first of all, obviously the social mission. We provide salary jobs to survivors of trafficking. They all are making over the living wage. Secondly, all of our essential oils are organic. We don’t sell any essential oils that are not USDA certified organic, and there’s no other essential oil company that sells only organic products. We’re really the only one. There’s a lot of essential oil companies that do sell organic essential oils, but it’s in addition to other non-organic essential oils.

And so we only sell organic products, which is another thing that makes us very different. We also try to integrate our social mission into every step of our supply chain. So most recently we have two new blends that just came out, but this one [shown to screen] is called Warm Memories and it is formulated. The blend was formulated by a registered aroma therapist who herself is a survivor of sex trafficking. And every sale of this, a certain percentage goes back to her and her small woman-owned, survivor-owned business. So we are always looking for creative ways to partner with other women-owned businesses.

Also we sell, for example [shown to screen] a ceramic lamp defuser that was handcrafted and designed by a female artisan in India who was one of the very first female artisans to really make it big. And I don’t even know that I would say it’s that big, but to make it in a very heavily dominated male industry in India [is amazing]. And so again, supporting other women-owned businesses in our supply chain is something that’s very, very important to us. So our environmental sustainability, our social impact as far as the people that we serve all make us very different. And then obviously, the two main multilevel marketing essential oil companies that a lot of people think of are multilevel marketing companies.

And unfortunately, a lot of people assume that we’re a multi-level marketing company when they hear that we sell aroma therapy products and essential oils. But we are not. And so one of the ways that we also are different is because we’re not a multi-level marketing company, our prices are significantly lower than those other companies. We’re not having to pay a commission all the way up the line. And so despite the fact that our oils are organic, our prices are actually lower and that’s just because of a different business model. And I think that that’s a really important point for people to really understand as well. Just due to a business model, oftentimes you’re paying more money, not necessarily because of the quality of the product. We get all of our oils independently tested by a third party lab, and we make all of our test results available on our website for every batch of oil too. So that all of our customers know that they are in fact, a hundred percent pure unadulterated uncontaminated undiluted essential oil. So you’re getting a very pure organic quality product for a very affordable price while simultaneously investing in the lives of marginalized women who really need support and need jobs.

Yamalis

Yeah. And making essential oils accessible to someone otherwise not be able to afford them.

Vanessa

Yes, exactly. And just, again, as far as our supply chain goes, these are our essential oil pouches [shown to screen]. About 12 bottles of our oils fit in these pouches, and these are also made by survivors of trafficking in Calcutta. It’s all organic, a hundred percent organic cotton, and then the insides are lined with up-cycled material. Again, everything that we do, all of our decisions that we make as far as what products we carry and where they come from, is very, very intentional. And as much as possible we work with and serve women-owned businesses.

Yamalis

Where can our listeners and viewers buy your products?

Vanessa

We sell our products online at Savhera.com. All of our products are listed on our website.

With so many questions being asked in the WomensNet Facebook group recently about Kickstarter, we turned to Katheryn Thayer, director of brand content at Kickstarter, for the inside scoop on what types of projects and businesses are most successful at crowdfunding. Here’s what she shared with us:

WomensNet: Could you give us a little history of crowdsourcing and Kickstarter?

Kickstarter: Kickstarter did not invent crowdfunding, but it gained its eponym by popularizing it. The company launched in 2009, at the tail end of the Great Recession, and that scrappy spirit has definitely been evident through 2020’s hardships. The Inside Voices call for projects helped creators generate new streams of income from quarantine, and Lights On encouraged creative businesses to use Kickstarter campaigns to stay open.

WomensNet: What types of companies usually use Kickstarter as a funding source?

Kickstarter: Kickstarter is exclusively for creative work (which includes creative businesses). The site rules require creators to offer something new—whether that’s a book, performance, class, food, installation, or something else—as a reward. Kickstarter campaigns allow creators to collect money for an idea they do not yet have the funds to produce at scale, so it can be a great tool for early and seed-stage businesses. It’s important to note that Kickstarter does not allow campaigns to offer equity.

WomensNet: Are there particular industries or types of products and services that tend to do well on the platform?

Kickstarter: Almost any creative project or business can find its fit on Kickstarter (provided it follows the rules). The official Kickstarter categories are Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing. But there are also several less apparent subcommunities around offerings like fashion, tarot, bike gear, and more.

WomensNet: Are there price points that tend to have more success?

Kickstarter: Most projects aim to offer at least one reward that costs between $20 and $50, and these more accessible prices tend to be popular with backers.

WomensNet: Is there an average amount raised that we could share?

Kickstarter: Every project is different. Small campaigns like those launched as part of Make 100 might aim to raise $1,000 or less. Creative businesses with a large following, like Brandon Sanderson’s self-publishing business, can raise millions.

WomensNet: Could you share a case study of a microbusiness that was successful in securing the funding they needed?

Kickstarter: I’m not sure how you define microbusiness, but this case study about a small design studio might be a good example.

WomensNet: What are some do’s and don’ts you might share to help our women business owners improve their odds of success on Kickstarter?

Kickstarter: There’s tons of great advice in our Creator Handbook—we recommend everyone who launches a project reads it. A few takeaways we repeat frequently:

• Create a list of potential backers and start collecting emails before you launch. (Our prelaunch pages can help with that.)
• Use clear, compelling lifestyle photography to help backers imagine themselves using your reward.
• Give yourself a cushion. Creators sometimes forget to factor shipping costs, production complications, and our 5% fee into their budgets.
• Creators can set a financial goal of any amount, and give themselves between 0 and 60 days to meet that goal. Though every project is different, we generally see that 30 day campaigns are the best way to motivate your community’s support without burning out.
• Send updates! Once you successfully meet your goal, regular communication with your backers is key.

WomensNet: Anything else they should know?

Kickstarter: Many creators launch a failed campaign before they find success! Failing is sometimes part of the process. And Kickstarter is a great way to learn what your audience is or is not responding to before you invest money in creating something.

Startup entrepreneurs are notoriously frugal. Many guard their pennies, often attempting to negotiate for the best price possible, or decide to do work themselves so as not to have to part with any cash. They work to keep plenty of money in their bank account, in case a slow period or downturn occurs. They want to be prepared.

That’s all good, but it can also be stifling. Holding so tightly onto money can actually limit growth.

Sometimes it makes more sense to pay someone else to complete tasks for you. Yes, it will cost you money, but it will free up time you can invest in other high value tasks.

But how do you know which tasks to delegate and which to complete yourself? There are a number of tests, or questions to ask yourself to make that determination.

What can you earn per hour?

One popular tactic is to calculate how much your time is worth – that is, how much do you earn per hour, on average. Based on your annual or monthly salary and the number of hours you work per month, how much do you earn for every hour you work?

Some consultants and service providers use their stated rate for this exercise, which is fine, though it probably won’t take into account the nonbillable work you do that would potentially bring that rate down. It’s always good to look at your potential hourly earnings, however, especially if handing off the nonbillable stuff is possible. That will mean you can generate more revenue because you’ll have more time to devote to the tasks that make you money.

So let’s say your hourly rate is $50. That’s how much you could earn per hour if you didn’t have more mundane activities like filing or typing up notes or boxing up orders to attend to.

Your next step is to identify people who can do all the nonbillable work that you generally do during the day, and who charge less than $50/hour. That might mean hiring a cleaning service to come in at night once a week, so that you don’t have to stay late to do it. Or hiring a shipping and receiving employee to be responsible for all of those efforts. Or paying a college intern to spend a few hours per week handling admin tasks. Or paying a virtual assistant (VA) to be your right-hand team member.

Consider doing a time study to see how you spend your time during a typical day. That can help you identify nonbillable tasks for you to offload as well as the amount of additional revenue you could generate if you weren’t responsible for those activities.

Can you train someone else to do the work?

It’s possible that someone else can do a lot of what you do if you can take the time to show them how to do what you want done. This is generally true if the work to be done is not your core service. For example, you could teach someone else how to process orders, how to conduct online research, or how to create PowerPoint decks just the way you like them.

However, there are some activities that may actually be in your zone of genius – the work that is at the core of why people come to you. Maybe you are a brilliant architect or artist, maybe you’re a copywriter or a web designer, or perhaps you’re a personal stylist with a unique way of drawing out your clients’ true beauty. The part of that work that is in your head, based on your experience, training, and perspective, can’t be outsourced – nor should it be.

But everything else that needs to happen in support of that? Yes. Look for ways to teach others to do the ancillary tasks, so you don’t have to.

If you can teach someone else to do work that you’re currently doing, and which you don’t have to be the one to take care of it, you can free up as much time per week for billable activities that you were spending on that other stuff.

This is true for product-based businesses too, though the connection isn’t as direct. If you could be making calls to potential distributors or retailers instead of printing out shipping labels, or writing email messages, or paying invoices, you would be creating new business relationships that could potentially yield sizeable revenue.

Do you want to learn how to do the work?

Some business activities, like web design or social media management, you could learn how to do. But do you want to? Do you need to? Unless these are in your zone of genius – part of your superpower – OR you’re so intrigued you want to learn how to, find an expert and hand the work off to them.

It’s very likely that paying an expert to do the work will result in it getting done faster and better than if you kept the work for yourself.

And, face it, we don’t all need to become experts in every aspect of our businesses.

So start to keep track of the tasks you attend to everyday that you could potentially delegate to someone else, and estimate how much more time you could free up for yourself. Then work on finding those skilled people willing to take on that work, for a fee.

That’s how you build an empire, even if it’s a one-person million dollar venture.

Female entrepreneurship has been hot for decades. There are currently more than 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the US, reports Fundera, and that number climbed by 1,821 every day in 2019. Currently, 40% of all US businesses are now owned by women.

However, women-owned ventures lag on a number of fronts, including financing and revenue size. Only 25% of women-owned companies seek financing, according to Fundera, and when they do, they receive less money than men; men borrow an average of $43,000, while women borrow $38,000. Although we don’t know why there is a difference, it may be due to an inability to qualify for more funding or a level of discomfort in applying for more.

For some women, the decision to put boundaries around their company’s size and growth potential is a conscious choice.

Creating a Lifestyle Business

Many women entrepreneurs choose to limit the growth of their companies, building businesses that fit their desired pace and way of life rather than aiming to create a business empire. They are often service-based companies that depend on the skills and abilities of the owner and which are operated around the owner’s schedule.

Referred to as “lifestyle” businesses, these companies are frequently started by women who are caring for children or other family members, or who have other roles or conditions that make it more difficult to hold a full-time job. Some are differently able and find it more comfortable to work out of a home office, rather than traveling to a facility. Some are going to school and having to work in between classes. Others may find that they can earn more part-time working for themselves, and prefer it.

Although the “lifestyle” name subtly implies that these types of businesses are less desirable than a business that is scalable– because lifestyle businesses aren’t structured for aggressive growth—there is nothing wrong with a lifestyle enterprise.

Typical lifestyle businesses include graphic design firms, law firms, consulting firms, hair stylists, personal shoppers, housecleaners, tailors, delivery services, and caterers, just to name a few.

Lifestyle businesses can generate tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for the owner, who doesn’t have to assume responsibility for managing employees. Some entrepreneurs tap into the skills of other independent workers on an as-needed basis to expand their capacity, but either way, the earning potential is certainly there.

Just because a business does not employ hundreds of workers and have locations statewide or globally does mean that the business is less desirable or less profitable.

“It is absolutely possible to run a highly profitable lifestyle business,” says Ed Gandia, business-building coach and host of the “High-Income Business Writing” podcast. With lifestyle businesses, “it’s all about finding ways to earn more in less time,” Gandia says. “You have only so much work capacity every week, so you need to ask yourself, ‘How can I maximize the value out of each one of those hours?’”

Gandia describes a “Freedom Triad” that consists of three potential ways of generating more revenue without significantly increasing your workload. They are: 1) Attracting higher value work, 2) Completing the work more efficiently, and 3) Structuring work so that it becomes recurring.

“These are all the things that enable you to really run an extremely profitable lifestyle business,” says Gandia.

The biggest downside, or disadvantage, of such businesses is that its growth is limited to your capacity. “There is still a ceiling,” he says, because there are only so many hours in a day and only so many hours you, personally, can work consistently.

The alternative is to build a business that is not as dependent on you and which can operate independently. We’re calling that type of business a “sellable asset.”

Building a Sellable Asset

The obvious advantage of a sellable asset is that at some point, there is the potential for you to sell it to someone else and walk away with money in your bank account. To do that, however, you need to structure the operation such that you’re not an essential participant, as you are with a lifestyle business.

Sellable assets generally have employees, which provide additional capacity and capability. They often involve equipment and processes that allow your business to run even when you’re not there. Typically, they are operated from space outside your home.

A venture that can continue to operate without your daily involvement has the potential to become a sellable asset.

Sellable assets often include businesses such as retail stores, beauty salons, advertising agencies, restaurants, construction firms, magazine publishers, and financial planning firms.

Achieving Financial Success Through a Lifestyle Business

Although many entrepreneurs believe that they need to establish large operations in order to “make it big” financially, that’s not the only way.

Gandia points out that professional athletes are the epitome of lifestyle business owners. They are their own personal brand and, as such, are unable to outsource any aspect of their performance. They also know that at some point in the future, their bodies will no longer perform at the same level and they’ll be forced to find another career.

What smart athletes do is plan ahead for that time when they can no longer play professionally. They diversify their portfolios from the outset, meaning they invest in businesses beyond professional sports.

Lifestyle business owners can take the same exact approach, taking a portion of their profits and investing in other income-generating assets. That might include the stock market, or real estate, or other businesses.

Gandia cites Shaquille O’Neal as a perfect example of how to leverage your lifestyle business to build wealth.

Worth an estimated $400 million today, O’Neal earned millions as a professional basketball player, saving and investing 75% of his income, CNBC reports. He then took that money and bought car washes, he bought Krispy Kreme franchises, Auntie Anne franchises, as well as others. He diversified into acting and TV appearances as a sports analyst. He constantly adds new income streams whenever he can.

O’Neal didn’t let the fact that he was running a lifestyle business impede his growth and his wealth. He simply took a portion of his business’ earnings and regularly invested in other industries, effectively diversifying his portfolio. He did what he loved, and what he excelled at, worked to be the best that he could, and then took the majority of the money his lifestyle business generated and invested it in other industries.

You can certainly do the same. Ignore the naysayers who suggest that a lifestyle business can’t help you build wealth.

Annalise Freytag shares her very personal struggle with mental health challenges and substance abuse as the reason behind the founding of her future Chicago-based yoga studio, Trikona Yoga. The details of her personal history demonstrate how effective yoga can be and how passionate she is about building a business that provides such services. Although Annalise’s own perseverance and strength come through in her application, there were some business details that were missing that the grant committee would have liked to have seen.

To help Annalise improve her odds of winning a grant — Amber Grant or otherwise — the WomensNet advisory board went back through her application to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the information she provided.

Here is the application as submitted:

Tell us about your business or business idea…

Trikona Yoga

Not all stories begin as fairy tales…

trikona yoga co. was created after a long internal battle with my own mental health and substance abuse disorder that I‘ve been suffering with for the past 12 years. Though a native of Michigan, I lived in Chicago from 2011-2018. This is the city that I consider home.

In my early twenties, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and clinical depression. Struggling to manage the stresses of life and shamefully battling my failing health issues, my life unraveled and led to unveiling my impending alcohol abuse disorder. In 2018, my mental health and substance abuse disorder peaked and I relocated back to Michigan after bouts of suicidal ideation. The move was an attempt to try and fight my way through sobriety. To my surprise, the “geographical relocation cure“ didn‘t work as I only continued to struggle to keep my health in check. It was then in May of 2019 that I decided that I could no longer live like this – that I wanted my life back, so I surrendered. I checked myself into an in-patient treatment program (Maplegrove of Henry Ford) and finally took back my power through intensive therapy and healing work. This treatment program helped me learn the tools that I needed to manage my disease and mental health disorder. May 1st, 2020 will mark my one year sobriety date and my life has changed dramatically for the better.

One of the greatest gifts and tools that aided in my recovery was yoga. Though a practitioner for over 4 years, it wasn‘t until my life was on the line with my depression and alcoholism that yoga became absolutely instrumental and fueled my recovery process. Not only do the principles and values of yoga synergistically align with the teachings of many recovery programs, but yoga finally helped me start believing in myself that I could do this – that I could live a life worth living. It has been through my sobriety and consistent yoga practice, that I made it my mission to re-frame the conversation around those struggling with their mental health & substance abuse disorders, and to break the sociological negative stigma. trikona yoga co. is my calling and I aim for this studio to be tangible proof that there is a hope out there for those struggling. My mission for this studio is to let the others know that they are not alone, we are here to help and that they are worth it.

Shame, guilt, lack of sufficient resources and help, was what kept me in the closet with this vicious cycle of ailing mental health for so long. Having first hand experience with being a victim to the negative stigma while battling this disease alone is what propels me to become a leader in creating a community where those struggling can find an affordable, holistic method to improving their mental health and recovery.

I am starting this journey because I feel with every fiber of my being that this path is where I need to be. To transparently share my story, to help and serve those who are lost and above all, to help heal those who are suffering by opening their journey of healing with the transformative powers of yoga.

Tell us what you would do with the money if awarded a grant…

If chosen for the grand prize, the funds would go directly into acquiring and launching our physical studio space. Additionally, the funds will allow us to extend our partnerships and boost marketing for our launch in 2021, letting the Chicago community know that there is an affordable, holistic, health space here to help them. If granted the $4,000 prize, the funding will go towards educational training & technology for our yoga instructors so that they are equipped with the tools needed in teaching our niche classes.

Our critique

Annalise has provided lots of background information regarding what led her to yoga, which makes it clear that she is committed to this business concept and has been moving in these circles for several years. That’s good. She’s not trying to start a business in an industry with which she’s unfamiliar.

Her plan to use grant funds to secure physical space is a smart priority, since finding and leasing space will determine so many other factors for her business, including marketing, hiring, etc. That she’s starting in a city she’s familiar with is also good; she knows the local area and probably has a good sense for where a yoga studio may be needed, or where her target client lives or works.

And her plan to invest in the education and training of her instructors also demonstrates her commitment to providing a quality service to her clientele. That’s another plus for her business concept.

Opportunities for improvement

Annalise has a lot of things going for her, not the least of which is the sheer strength and determination she has demonstrated in getting sober. If she can do that, she can do anything. However, her application did leave out specifics about her business that the grant committee really wanted to see.

With more than four years of experience as a yoga practitioner, Annalise likely has the background to run a studio, though more detail about whether she’s led yoga classes, rather than participating as a student, would be great information to add to the application. How much business experience does she have? Does she have any yoga certifications?

Specifics about the kind of yoga she’d offer, how big a space she’s looking for, how many instructors she plans to hire, and other operational details would also help explain the type of studio she intends to build. Right now the description of the business is vague—it’s hard to picture what it would look like.

More information about her ideal client, pricing, marketing, and financials would also be useful, to demonstrate that she knows who her client is and has a plan for promoting her studio to them.

It’s obvious that Annalise has a vision for her business. For a grant application, however, it’s helpful to share the specifics of that vision with the committee members who are reading about it. Show us how it’s going to be successful – what are you going to do better than other yoga studios in the area. Including some basic sales projections is always a good idea, too, to prove that the business can be profitable.

This is a good start to an application and, for any applicant, we’d recommend going into more detail as you describe what your business will look like, who it will serve, how you’ll market it, and how you’ll make money.

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to find reliable, useful advice from people who know what they’re talking about. Sure, everyone has opinions, but which are the opinions worth listening to? It can be hard to distinguish between people who’ve been there, done that and can share how they handled a situation similar to yours and people who believe they know how they would handle a situation should they ever face it. Big difference.

Fortunately, there are organizations, agencies, and communities you can turn to when you have a “what would you do?” type of question. And you’ll get answers from people who can talk about what they did, and what they’d do now if they faced the same situation.

Here are some of the best we’ve heard of or dealt with:

Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)

This unit of the Small Business Administration—SCORE– provides free business counseling to entrepreneurs and business owners, delivered by retired executives and entrepreneurs who serve as mentors. We’ve heard SCORE can be great at helping you problem-solve when you’re facing a specific challenge or obstacle.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Frequently located on the campuses of community colleges or universities and partially funded by the Small Business Administration, SBDCs also offer free or low-cost advice to aspiring and existing business owners. Face-to-face (or maybe virtual right now) counseling is no-cost, while training is offered at cost, on topics ranging from marketing to business planning to exporting, regulatory compliance, and more. Search to find your local SBDC to learn about the services they provide.

Avvo

This legal advice website allows you to submit a question on the site for free, which an attorney will answer. There are also plenty of useful articles on topics of interest to small business owners, all of which are free to read.

Business Advising

Like SCORE, which pairs you with a mentor, Business Advising matches US small business owners with a volunteer advisor who works with you for free. The nonprofit claims that companies that work with its mentors achieve a 20% increase in revenue, on average, as a result. Although there are no firm rules, the companies that benefit most from the organization’s mentoring typically have been in business for at least a year, have more than one employee, and revenue over $100,000.

StartupNation

This website is chock full of free useful articles offering startups and existing businesses information and guidance designed to help you grow.

Small Business Forum

This old-school bulletin board-style site is a place where you can post questions for other business owners to answer, for free. The group is active and could provide a broader perspective on whatever you’d like help with.

Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a very well-known and respected business accelerator for smaller companies trying to scale quickly. Its YouTube channel, with more than 268,000 subscribers, features instructional videos from a wide variety of entrepreneurial superstars.

Your alma mater

Many colleges and universities—and especially larger ones—have incredible networks that you should definitely tap into. From local meet-and-greets to venture investment funds. MIT’s Castor Ventures, for example, is a venture capital fund to which MIT alums have access as investors. Its sister fund, Alumni Ventures Group, is a potential starting point for MIT alums heading small ventures.

The key with any challenge you may be facing is to zero in on the question you need answered. What piece of information will allow you to progress? Then investigate who is best positioned to answer your question. Some of these organizations may be able to help you.

Shawna Bobst, RN’s Amber Grant application for HEART Mobile CPR is a great example of a business that evolved from side hustle to full-fledged business. There is no question that there is demand at some level for CPR training in her area, however, there were some missing pieces of information that kept Shawna out of the running for an Amber Grant.

To help Shawn improve her odds of winning a grant – Amber Grant or otherwise – the WomensNet advisory board went back through her application to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the information she provided.

Here is the application as submitted:

Tell us about your business or business idea…

I started HEART mobile CPR in 2018 to give everyone the opportunity to learn how to save a life. It started as a small business I was doing on the side a long with my nursing position. I never really thought about it becoming a real business, just something to do. As time went on I started getting calls to come do classes for corporations like Owens Corning, Lennox HVAC, and other corporations and I started to think wow, I may have a good business idea here. With the amazing growth I quickly became an authorized training site through AHA in 2019. I was able to then start training individuals to be trainers. At this time I have 38 amazing women on my team. We are making connections throughout the state of Ohio and making an impact on others lives. I feel like we are family, we have spa days, dinners, and what we call instructor POW WOWs.

At this time I would like to see the business grow in other ways now as well.

For several years I have had connections with human trafficking organizations. I have held fundraisers and collected purses/backpacks filled with much needed items for the woman and children. Seeing these woman overcome as survivors is amazing and I would like to do more. I have been putting things into place to be in a position to offer these woman employment and mentoring on becoming trainers and growing their own business. My goal is to be more than just a company that teaches others how to save lives through CPR but also changing lives for woman.

Tell us what you would do with the money if awarded a grant…

If HEART Mobile CPR was to be awarded the money I would be utilizing it to purchase more equipment such as manakins, BVMs, AEDs, face shields, office equipment. This would help to ensure every trainer has the necessary equipment to conduct a successful class. Many things need to be in place to have this to run smoothly not only the equipment but the marketing and websites as well to make the connections needed to get clients. This money would be utilized to change the lives of others in many ways.

Thank you for your time and attention and consideration to award HEART Mobile CPR the Amber Grant.

Our critique

As a nurse, Shawna has a great background for a healthcare-related business. She has the training and connections within the medical community that should help attract clients and she is obviously qualified to provide CPR training services (becoming an authorized trainer in 2019 was also a big win).

She does well explaining her business, her services, and how the business came to be — originating organically due to community need. A customer-driven company is always better than trying to introduce a new product or service that people aren’t sure they want. In this case, there is demand for CPR training, which is a big positive for this application.

What comes through loud and clear in her application is her passion for saving lives. She wants to improve her community and prevent unnecessary deaths by training more people in the use of CPR. It’s a noble cause and she’s obviously committed, all of which is good. We know she’s all in.

She’s also doing a great job of networking and leveraging past successes to attract more potential clients. Her existing client relationships with major corporations gives her immediate credibility that should make attracting new clients easier.

Opportunities for improvement

Although it’s clear what HEART Mobile CPR provides in the way of services, there is no information about how the company makes money. What do customers pay for training services? What kind of expenses does the company have? How are team members paid? What are the profit margins? What is the geographic radius that the company serves? These questions are essential for any grant committee to have answered in order to gauge the viability of the business. That is, is it profitable and is it making enough money to survive and grow? That’s unclear here.

Another area where Shawna could elaborate is on the company’s marketing strategy. How will she connect with organizations that may want to bring in CPR training? There is a website, which is good for businesses searching for CPR training in her area, but what kind of outreach is being done? Is she active on social media, is she using direct mail to area companies, is she pursuing publicity – we don’t know.

The planned support for human trafficking survivors is noble and a terrific idea, but it’s not directly related to providing CPR training, so it wouldn’t be a factor in judging the application. It would be better to use that space to talk about how the business will be operated. Such as whether there are expansion plans for the company and what needs to happen for those to be implemented? For example, will there need to be a certain number of training requests per month or quarter before HEART Mobile decides to set up a site there?

Shawna has the skills and experience to run a thriving business – and she may be already. However, without any financial information at all, it was hard to know whether the company was profitable or struggling. Adding statistics like sales growth from the last couple of years, or projected revenue for 2020, would be a big help to grant evaluators.

Shawn’s got a great start and we hope she reapplies with some more detail.