Small Business, Startup

Boomers: Stay young. Start a business.

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Photo from Canva

We all know that as baby boomers we are the largest group in the population. As a result as we age there has been no end to products and services directed at us (I’m a boomer born in 1950. You can do the math to figure out how old I am.) There are ads on TV and in magazines that will help you look young. There are articles about how to stay young. There is even software you can buy that will stimulate your thinking and keep you young. Everything is about anti-aging.

Have you ever thought that starting a business will keep you young? Not the “bricks and mortar” kind but a service business like consulting, photography, event planning, virtual assistance or pet sitting.

I know that running a business is a lot of work but women business owners that I have interviewed all said that what they like most about being self employed is the freedom it gives you. How does freedom relate to staying young?

Why start a business to keep young?

Every article I’ve read says that you need several things to keep you young (look at Betty White, Don Rickles, William Shatner and Christopher Plummer) and having your own business provides all of them.

  • learning about the variety of work that clients do
  • building relationships with clients and colleagues (and relatives)
  • time flexibility – you choose when to work and how much
  • learning new things like a language. Self-employment, your bookkeeping, accounting, marketing and technology have languages that are new to you.
  • feeling and knowing that you’re useful. In business you’re always helpful to your clients.

Don’t listen to your friends and relatives. Check it out for yourself. One of the women who I interviewed, Janet Williams was influenced by another student in her reflexology course who was 71. When Janet asked her why she wanted to start her own reflexology business she said: “You’re never too old.”

Listen to the words of the song  Young At Heart. I just heard the version by Frank Sinatra on the radio and have a CD of Jimmy Durante singing it. My mom always sang it to me when I was a child, too. I guess that’s why I think young.

What are your thoughts? If you haven’t started yet, what’s stopping you? Any of the many women entrepreneurs can motivate you. If they can do it then why not you!

 Originally posted June 14, 2012 

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Marketing, Small Business, Startup

Networking: what do YOU want out of it? #1 of 3

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My photo from my network, March 2015

Networking is a marketing activity you need to do in business.

Do it regularly and frequently especially when you have a startup business. Should you expect to get leads from it right away? Yes and no.

Here are two stories. Deanne Kelleher of Kaos Group  has talked about getting business from someone 8 years after she met them while networking. Instant gratification? Nope.

Laurie Bell of Moving Seniors With a Smile has talked about going to LOTS of networking events to talk about her business when it was new. Does she go to as many now? No – she doesn’t need to. Does she still go? Yes – to continue to be known.

What is your main reason for networking?

The first thing you need to do is think about your business and what you want to get out of attending the event. Decide whether you want to:

  • meet new people
  • promote your business
  • promote a particular product, service or workshop
  • get seen everywhere
  • check out the network to see if you can speak at it
  • hear a particular speaker
  • learn about a topic you’ve been studying
  • connect with others in the same situation as you
  • get a solution to a problem you have in business
  • or just get out of the house!

In order to do any of these (except the last one) you need to know your target market.

I’ve written two other posts you should read as well “11 Characteristics of a Network” and “How to Choose the Right Network for You”. This one should be the first one you read.

To sum up

  1. decide why you’re going (this post gives you several reasons)
  2. review what characteristics are important to you in a network (Read my post called 11 Characteristics of a network)
  3. choose the right network for you (Read my post called How to choose the right network for you)

Does that help? Do you know why you’re going now?

To repeat – go to more than one session of a group. You can’t judge after just one visit. 

 Originally posted March 18, 2015

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8 Actions for a startup – #7 find and follow blogs

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A blog or website is essential for business.

What is a blog?

A blog is a discussion or informational site consisting of individual entries called blog posts. Blogs have been around since 1993.

Here’s a definition that Darren Rowse of Problogger used from Wikipedia “A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called blogging”.

Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. A person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”. A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links to other web pages, video, audio or other files….”

All businesses and many individuals have them.

Should you have a blog for your business? 

Yes.

QUESTION: “If a blog is defined as a website and I need to have a website for my business, what’s the difference between a blog and a website?”

 MY ANSWER: Simply put, a website costs more than a blog.

  1. It costs your time to decide what you want it to look like and the number and topics of pages to have.

2. It costs to hire a website developer and a copywriter if you don’t write your own content.

3. When you decide to have a website there are two more things you need to buy – a domain name (the name of your business or yourself) and a host (somewhere to keep it). The domain costs about $7 U.S. the first year but after that about $15 U.S. annually. The monthly hosting costs are anywhere from $7.95 U.S. to $14.95 U.S.

How do you find blogs ?

There are directories of blogs that you can go to. Go to google and type in “blog directories” and lists will come up. Each blog directory is good but choose the ones which publish to your target market.

How do you choose which blogs to follow?

Remember when I wrote about reading books I talked about how to choose them? Do the same thing for blogs.

  • Study blogs about your topic. It’s professional development or Research and Development and it should be ongoing.
  • Go beyond your topic. Stay at the leading edge. That’s how I learned about “neuromarketing”.
  • Find blogs about how to start a business and how to market. Remember that you can’t know too much.

What to do when you find them

Take a helicopter approach to finding them. Then shadow some of those.

  • Read them.
  • Study the content.
  • Learn from the “look and feel” of them. Does it attract you or not? What do you or don’t you like?
  • Sign up for and follow a few. You can always unsubscribe.
  • Look at their titles and what the author writes about.

Don’t start a blog yet. 

Observe them to learn about blogging.

Then start your own blog – you can always create a website later and copy and paste or export the content to the blog there. In the meantime grow your business and direct people to your blog!

So  … are you starting your business “on a shoestring”? You can do it by using a blog!

Choose a niche, write a business plan and a marketing plan for your business. Then have your own blog.

Comment here whether you’ve found blogs you like or whether this post is helpful to you. Let me know.

Originally posted February 27, 2012 

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8 Actions for startup – #8 who is your target market

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You have an idea of what you will sell to whom, don’t you.

Now that you’ve done the first seven actions, it’s time to get more specific and decide WHO your target market or niche is.

Whether you’re starting your first business or have been a business owner for years, every year you should review who and what your target market is. I did this in 2011 since many things had changed in my life. I used Judi Hughes of Your Planning Partners here in Toronto  https://yourplanningpartners.com/ . I also took a small group course by phone from Tsufit called Step into the Spotlight. https://tsufit.com/blog/ They really helped me focus on what I have to offer and to whom.

6 ways to help find your target market

1. Go to bed with it (what is your target market) on your mind then let it go and fall asleep. That’s what Jack Canfield did to get the name for the book series he co-authors with Mark Victor Hansen call Chicken Soup for the Soul.

2. Meditate. Put this as a question BEFORE your meditation then let it go.

3. Contemplate all that you’ve learned from books, webinars, conferences, your coach and newsletters you get. What do you REALLY sell to whom?

4. Daydream. We all have daydreams, don’t we? Look at them. Take them seriously. You may see your target market.

5. Imagine what you’d be doing on your ideal day. Who are you doing it for? What are you doing?

6. Listen to your coach (be sure they really know you) and consider what the leader of each webinar you take says.

BELIEVE! Most importantly, what do have PASSION for? What do you need? What solution do you have for a problem?

Tell me and my readers what problem you can solve with your solution. Who is YOUR target market?

Originally posted March 3, 2012

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8 Actions for startup – #7 Find and follow blogs

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A blog or website is essential for business.

What is a blog?

Here is a definition that Darren Rowse of Problogger used from Wikipedia “A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”.

Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. A person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”. A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links to other web pages, video, audio or other files….”

All businesses and many individuals have them.

Should you have a blog for your business? 

YES. As a startup business, check several of them out even before you build a website.

QUESTION: If a blog is defined as a website and I want to have a website for my business, what’s the difference between a blog and a website?

 MY ANSWER: That’s the subject of another blog post.

How do you find them ?

There are directories of blogs that you can go to. Go to google and type in “blog directories” and lists will come up. Each blog directory is good but choose the ones which publish to your target market.

How do you choose which blogs to follow?

Remember when I wrote about reading books I talked about how to choose them? Do the same thing for blogs.

  • Study blogs about your topic. It’s professional development or Research and Development and it should be ongoing.
  • Go beyond your topic. Stay at the leading edge. That’s how I learned about “neuromarketing”.
  • Find blogs about how to start a business and how to market. Remember that you can’t know too much.

What to do when you find them

Take a “helicopter” approach. Then “shadow” some.

  • Read them.
  • Study the content.
  • Learn from the “look and feel” of them. Does it attract you or not? What do you or don’t you like?
  • Sign up for and follow a few. You can always unsubscribe.
  • Look at their titles and what the author writes about.

Don’t start a blog yet. 

Just observe to learn about them. Choose a niche, write a business plan and a marketing plan. When you have done your own website and become a guest blogger (I’ll write more about this in a future blog post) then have your own blog.

Comment here whether you’ve found blogs you like or whether this post is helpful to you. Let me know!

Originally posted February 27, 2012  Tagged with: blog, social media,startup

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Startup

8 Actions for a startup – #6 attend conferences

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Have you ever gone to a conference? They have a lineup of speakers, panels, and topics to pick from. They have concurrent sessions and sometimes two of the sessions you really want to go to are at the same time. How do you choose? By the speaker? by the topics? do you “toss a coin”? Decisions Decisions …

1. How do you find out about conferences?

Ask the same people you asked about what newsletter to subscribe to  (#3 in my list of 8 actions) or courses to take (#5 in my list of 8 actions) or books to read (#4 in my list of 8 actions). I’ll repeat them and I’ll add one more.

  • Ask other women at networking events.
  • Read the speakers’ websites and the conferences’ websites that other business owners suggest. Add these to your list and ask your mentor or coach or someone who’s attended before.
  • Ask your mentor and your coach which ones they go to. Ask them which ones they recommend. Have a list of the speakers and the topics offered that you’re considering when you ask them.
  • Check out the ones the writers/ owners of the newsletters you subscribe to attend or speak at.
  • Ask someone who’s gone to AND participated in the conference you’re thinking of attending.
  • Use a search engine on your computer like google. Enter a word or phrase that best describes what you’re involved in and looking for. For example: marketing, startup, chiropractic, alternative health or lifestyle coaching. How do you describe your business when you tell others what you do? Enter that phrase.

2. How do you choose whether to attend or not?

Use the criteria:

Location. Is it too far for you to go or is it in your city?

Cost. Add up accommodations, travel, attendance fee and your time and get the REAL cost of an event. Can you afford it?

Contacts. How many will you make? Remember you don’t just want to meet the presenters in person but to network with the other attendees.

Professional Development. What will you learn? Could you read it in a book? Take a webinar?

Timing. Do the dates conflict with anything you’ve already committed to?

If the contacts and your professional development and learning outweigh the costs and you can make the time for this then go. Don’t let yourself be swayed by the urgency that many conference organizers put on deciding. Do your “due diligence” just as you did before starting the business then decide if it’s right for you.

3. How do you choose which sessions to attend?

Speaker. Is there one of them you really want to hear and meet and that’s why you came?

Topic. Would you learn more from one topic than the other?

Recording. All events record the speakers. Could you buy the recording of the one you choose NOT to attend?

Associations. Do you have any associations you belong to who have an annual conference? Who attends this?

Is someone else going to that session and taking notes? That’s why networking is so important. Ask the people sitting near you at the conference what they do. Arrange to meet them for coffee or lunch or dinner. Which sessions are THEY attending?

Do This …

Share with us which conferences worked “best” for you. Tell us the name so we know and can tell others.

Originally posted   February 24, 2012 

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8 Actions for a startup – #5 Take live courses and webinars

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You take courses for at least two reasons – to learn and to meet people – network.

Kinds of Courses

1. Live Course. This is just as it says. You’re in a seminar or course with a group of people in a physical place like a hotel. Pros: you network with people, “personalized” attention from instructor Cons: cost – your time to get there, parking and fuel, paid recording of the course.

2. Webinars (used to be called telecourses and were via phone only) These use technology – computers or phones. Pros: cheaper, no travel time for you or the instructor, no cost for parking, can get a replay if you’re not available, use your laptop computer or smartphone for webinars Cons: networking with other participants is difficult or impossible, you may be at a client and therefore have no access to long distance for a phone course.

You can see that both types have their pros and cons. For me who can’t travel as easily since my stroke, if a seminar is in town I either have to pay for a taxi or find another participant to give me a ride, the webinars and telecourses are perfect. I can take several each year and I never have to leave home. Thank goodness for technology:-) But choose for yourself.

Why Take Courses?

  1. As a lifelong learner I believe in education and learning. Never stop learning. Even if it’s a free webinar, as long as the advertising of the speaker’s next course is kept to a minimum, sign up for them. The good news is that all webinars are recorded. The bad news is that the slides used in a webinar aren’t always available.
  2. Networking is the first kind of marketing I always suggest. At a live seminar you can choose the other students you wish to and talk with them or set up to meet them. You also have an opportunity to meet the instructor in person.

How do you hear about them?

Ask the same people you asked about what newsletter to subscribe to (#3 in my list of 8 actions) and books to read (#4 in my list of 8 actions). I’ll repeat the points here.

  • Make a list of what matters to YOU.
  • Make sure you put professional development costs in your planning budget.
  • Take a free webinar first.
  • Ask your mentor and your coach which ones they attend in person or listen to on a webinar. Ask them which ones they would recommend. If they’re paid courses by someone you’ve never heard of, ask your mentor or coach if they’ve heard of the speaker. If they have and you can afford it, take the course.
  • Have a list of what’s offered that you’re considering.
  • Read websites and go to the ones the business owners suggest.
  • Ask other women at networking events.
  • Check out the ones that the writers/ owners of the newsletters you subscribe offer.

Remember, you always learn something. Over the years I’ve taken many courses and webinars. You can never know everything.

You would think I know a lot since I’ve been self employed since 1980. Nope – one can always learn more. Early in 2011, I  took a group coaching program/ telecourse for 10 weeks from Tsufit  of “Step Into Spotlight”  and I learned something new AND different ways to look at something that I already knew. There’s always something new to learn!

Often I’m called a marketing expert. That’s because I keep learning through books, newsletters, webinars and conferences. But I learn the most from YOU – my students and followers. YOU ask the questions and if I know I tell you the answer. If I don’t know I tell you and then search to learn it and then tell YOU!

That’s how it works. It’s okay to not know the answer. Just ask and then you’ll know.

 Originally posted February 14, 2012

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8 Actions for a startup – #2 hire a coach

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What is a coach and how is it different from a consultant?

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines them this way .. “a coach instructs or trains. … a consultant gives professional advice or services; an expert.”

That doesn’t really help you, does it? A coach can and should be an expert too. What matters more is that the coach is a teacher who is also your cheerleader and trains you so you can do it yourself and the consultant gives you advice and possibly does something for you.

You’ll eventually need a consultant but you need a business coach first.

Why should you have a business coach?

This is your first business, isn’t it? You were very good at your job and may have moved up through the ranks. You may have worked for a large corporation that had multiple offices. But this may be the first time you’ve had your own business and you probably don’t know what to do.

Don’t worry. If you hire the right coach, you will.

A coach knows the right questions to ask. A session with a coach could be a mini steeping session (like tea) where you shut out the world and reflect inwardly on what you want.

Who is the RIGHT coach and how do you find her/ him?

Here are some ideas.

  1. Make a list of these: who you are (do you ask a lot of questions?), how you’d like to work ( by phone or in person), how you learn (are you visual, auditory or kinaesthetic?).
  2. Talk to friends or colleagues who have their own business and ask who they used. Would they use them again? Refer them?
  3. If you don’t know anyone with their own business call a “stranger” who has a successful business that’s similar to the kind you want to begin and ask them if they’ll become your coach.
  4. Ask your mentor. That’s why you get one first.
  5. Make an appointment with several people who ARE coaches. Many have a free session. See who “fits” with you.

Remember …

• It’s YOUR decision.

• YOU choose them not vice versa.

• You’ll have a lot of no’s before you have a “yes”.

• Trust your feelings.

Let me know what happens. If you’re already in business then what criteria did YOU use to choose YOUR coach?

Originally posted February 3, 2012

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8 Actions for a startup – #4 read books

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These are some of my books

I’ve always loved to read – anything!

Buying books is one of my favourite things to do. So entering a bookstore is a dream come true for me. I was so happy when they first opened coffee shops IN bookstores. Now I can start reading what I’ve bought. But enough about me.

Have passion for your business topic and love to learn

You can learn a lot from books. When I decided I wanted to learn more about a concept called neuromarketing I found the name of several books about it. When I had the opportunity to go a bookstore I could scan the books themselves and decide which ones were for me. When I did, I ended up buying two of the books on my list.Forms of books

It used to be that there were two forms for books – hardcover and paperback. I know you could also get “books on tape” or books with large fonts. Now there are also ebooks. More authors are making sure their book besides being on paper is also an ebook.

It also used to be difficult to choose an ereader because each book chain has its own. But that’s changed. I have bought several ebooks for the Amazon KINDLE. I have an ipad so with the Kindle App downloaded on it, I open the KINDLE App there and voilà there are the books!

You can also listen to books with Audible – but I prefer seeing rather than listening😃

What should you read?

  • It goes without saying that you need to read books about your topic. It’s professional development (here in Canada you can deduct a book as Professional Development and not just courses). You can read them for Research and Development which you need to do all the time. So if you think you can stop learning since you’ve done a course on a certain topic, you can’t.
  • Go beyond your topic. Stay at the leading edge. That’s why I have read several books about neuromarketing.
  • Read about how to start a business and how to market. Remember that you can’t know too much.

Where can you learn what you should read?

  • Browse your topic in bricks and mortar bookstores.
  • Read newsletters online (that’s where I learned about neuromarketing. Patsi Krakoff of The Blogsquad wrote about books she’s read in her newsletter ).
  • Browse authors and your topic at online bookstores like amazon or Chapters or Borders.
  • Visit blogs. (They’re the topic of another post.)

Tell me what books you’re reading. As you know, I love to know about them! Share the titles with everyone.  

Originally posted February 10, 2012

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8 Actions for a startup – #3 subscribe to newsletters

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You’ve chosen a mentor and hired a business coach. What else should you do?

Do you remember when all newsletters were printed on paper and came by mail? I do. In the 80s when I co-owned an Apple computer dealership in Toronto, we had a one page one. It was even before desktop publishing. We would type it (on computer), print one, give that to a printshop, tell them how many copies to make, pick them up, fold and stuff them in envelopes, put a label for each customer on the envelope (Yes. We had a database program.), put a stamp on each and go to either a mailbox or the post office to mail them. WHEW! No wonder we were one of the few companies that did them.

Ezine or newsletter? What are they called?

They’re now electronic and are called either ezines (pronounced like magazine) or newsletters. We use them because it’s “free” to start and because postage is too expensive (here in Canada in 2020, if you qualify, the cost to mail a newsletter starts at 51 cents to mail and takes 3-5 days for delivery).

Why subscribe to newsletters?

There are several reasons and each newsletter ALWAYS has a way to unsubscribe. It’s the law in Canada and the U.S. So subscribe to several for now. You can always unsubscribe.

Subscribe to ones run by people in your business (your competitors). Here’s what to look for:

  • do they publish in text or in html and give you a choice of either one
  • what do they write about (you may want to write blog posts on their topics)
  • do YOU learn something (you should always be learning and this one way)
  • do they give you solid information or do they just advertise their products (the rule of thumb is 80% knowledge and 20% sales)

How do you know which newsletters to subscribe to?

  • Ask your mentor and your coach what they subscribe to. That’s why I had you get a mentor and a coach to start.
  • Read websites and go to the ones the business owners suggest.
  • Ask other people at networking events.

What newsletters do YOU subscribe to and why? Tell everyone so they know. I get ones about blogging, writing, online business, marketing to women, small businesses, about networking events here in Toronto, …. You can see that I subscribe to many.

Every once in a while I “clear the clutter on my computer” and unsubscribe to a few. How do I decide? Well for me they’re often ones I don’t read any more. You’re just starting so which ones have you chosen?

Originally posted on February 8, 2012

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