brand building

How Do I Get My First Clients?

How Do I Get My First Clients?

You're ready to launch your new business. You have a shiny new website with great content and copy and you've started a blog so people can find you when they Google your products and services and.... Crickets.

So how do you get clients for your brand new business?

Start with people you know and people who you've worked with in the past. Even if you offer them help and advice at a discounted rate, or even for free. Doing free and discounted work for a complete stranger just for 'exposure' may or may not help you land that first client, but doing the same work for people within your current network is more likely to lead to paid referrals and more business. 

,

Create a Customer Profile to Maximize Your Marketing Efforts

,
Create a Customer Profile to Maximize Your Marketing Efforts

Your customer should be at the center of your business and your marketing messages. If you take the time to identify your customer and create a customer profile (also called an avatar) that embodies your ideal customers or clients, you can create more directed messages that speak to that specific customer group.

,

How Do I Create a Consistent Content Strategy?

,
How Do I Create a Consistent Content Strategy?

Consistency is more than doing or saying the same thing again and again. It's also showing up where and when your potential customers expect to find you. If you create consistency in your messages, presence (both online and off), and schedule, you can form long-term relationships with your clients and customers that will generate incremental business over time.

Consistency should start with your branding. Your message should be present throughout and solidified within your website and any physical presence that you have. Your topics and individual articles can branch a bit further with the messages that you create and share through your email communication and your other customer outreach, but the underlying message should be the same across all channels and customer touchpoints.

,

Digital Marketing for Non-Digital Businesses

,
Digital Marketing for Non-Digital Businesses

Nowadays, everyone is online. Whether you do business online or not, your customers are looking (searching) for you there. They want to know as much about you and their potential experience as possible before they walk in your door or pick up the phone. They want to interact with you via social media or email or another platform. Your customers are also looking for information, sometimes even from the front door or parking lot of your shop. If you don't provide that information, it will come from either generic search results or your competitor.

If you create a strong website that provides information about your business and your industry at large, you'll gain greater access to your audience and the ability to communicate with them directly. Your website should educate your clients about the experience they will have with you and the products and services that you offer. Whether you sell online or not, a website is always an opportunity for education.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Wendy Zook

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Wendy Zook

Tell me a little about you and your company.

I took the long road to get where I think I was always meant to be. I left attempted careers and 60-hour work weeks in journalism and hospitality to stay at home with my two children (Zack is now 5 and Addie is now 3) about two years ago. I realized I was missing too many bedtimes and milestones and was just too burnt out to feel like a good mom and wife on my days off, so we took a risk and it's been just fantastic. However, I soon realized that despite stay-at-home-mom being one of the most intense jobs imaginable, I still craved a little creativity and an outlet and so I started to reemerge myself into my passion for photography. I found that, much like in my past careers, lifestyle photography allowed me to still tell stories and freeze time. I love capturing memories for my couples and families and I am so ecstatic when a stranger says they feel like they know the people in my images -- that's what Wendy Zook Photography is all about to me.

What Is a Pitch? Why Do I Need a Pitch?

What Is a Pitch? Why Do I Need a Pitch?

A pitch isn't just about sales. A pitch is a way of telling your story. More than that, your pitch should be authentic and tell your story in a way that compels others to learn more about your brand and your business, but also shows your excitement about your products and services. If you are truly excited about your business, that will show. You cannot fake genuine enthusiasm.

You need a pitch because a good pitch will engage your audience and make them want to do business with you. Your pitch will help determine whether you get media placement, customers, and possibly investors.

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Rose Valley Textiles

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Rose Valley Textiles

Rose Valley Textiles is an art & design studio offering decorative fabric designs for interiors and home decor.  My name is Brittany and I am the Creative Director. As a textile designer, I have an affinity for exceptional quality textile materials and sustainable manufacturing practices. My color palettes are refined; my patterning references traditional textiles with a modern twist.  

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Tumbleweed Apothocary

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Tumbleweed Apothocary

Tell me a little about you and your company.

Tumbleweed Apothecary started on a walk—we were discussing the various plants around us and how we would use them to improve our lives and the lives of our families, however, this gave us pause. We are both herbalists, we know about plant medicine and how to combine it with nutrition to enrich our personal lives (and those of our loved ones), but not everyone knows how easy, accessible, and life changing plant medicine can be. So we set out to create a business that could not just support our health, but the health of our various communities. 

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Three Feathers Design

The Interview Series: Spotlight on Three Feathers Design

Tell me a little about you and your company.

I am a mom of two little kids, a wife, surfer and designer. My company is Three Feathers Design and I help creative entrepreneurs build kick ass brands. 

How long have you owned your own business?

It is coming on 2 years, but I just recently started working full-time for myself, up until recently I had a part-time job - to pay the bills and provide a little security while I built my business. 

,

The Art of Saying 'No'

,
The Art of Saying 'No'

Throughout the course of doing business, you'll be faced with many difficult decisions and sometimes have to turn down opportunities, marketing, and even potential clients because they do not align with your business or your goals for your company. It's important that you learn how to say 'no' when it's appropriate for your business. It's also important to be gracious when making a rejection of any kind.

,

Create Your Niche

,
Create Your Niche

A niche is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted."

A lot of people talk about finding a niche for your small business, but it can be difficult to do. Narrowing your business scope to deliver one great product or service line to one specific group of core customers can be scary.