According to Richard Branson CEO and Founder of Virgin “A business’s long history is meaningless if it doesn’t provide the best-designed, most reliable products or services at competitive prices and back up those offerings with the finest customer service. In these fast-moving times, longevity is more the exception than the rule. According to a 2012 study by Richard N. Foster of Yale University, the average lifespan of a company listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has decreased to just 18 years, from 61 years in 1958.

Are you becoming complacent?

Almost no products are so good that they cannot be constantly improved on. In the UK they have a great saying: like painting the Forth Bridge in Britain,” which is an unending task. This is because the painters of this massive bridge in Edinburgh were never done – once they had finished painting it, they then were needed to immediately start again. The task came to an end in 2011, because workers had switched to a new kind of paint. This is a great example how your businesses product development should be a similarly endless quest for improvement.

According to Bluecorona Small Business Statistics for 2016/2017

• 66% of small business owners say that finding new customers is a top concern.
• 40% of small business owners say that retaining customers is a priority.
• 43% of SMBs says that improving customer experience and retention is their top strategy to improve revenue growth.
• 30% say that keeping up with technology advances is a major concern of small business owners.

What is Future Proofing?

The term “future-proof” refers to the ability of something to continue to be of value into the distant future; that the item does not become obsolete. This information can be distilled into many principles depending on industry group which can then be applied to many areas.

10 Ways to Future Proof your Small Digital Business

1. Work with millennial and change your thinking.
2. Think from your client’s standpoint and create a positive product experience from this viewpoint.
3. Common Q&A if you get the same questions try re-writing your website copy to better answer common questions.
4. Focus on creating a long-term client not just a one-time sale.
5. Read about marketing trends and the directions on technology
6. Eliminate untrustworthy or toxic people from your life, this could be a lifelong friend, family member, a dishonest bank that has cheated for so long it’s become common practice, or even your mortgage broker who breaches your client trust and confidentiality.
7. Monitor What direction your top 5 closest competitors are doing and create an average for your new direction if a new change is needed.
8. Have a upsell strategy built into your product purchase process.
9. Train your staff right from the start on exactly how to carry out the tasks they are expected to complete.
10. Cut your costs, all businesses have expenses. Most businesses have expenses that can be cut. Don’t wait until you need to cut your operating costs to start eliminating unnecessary services and expenses from your monthly burn rate. Take a look into the expenses that don’t equate to your basic bottom line and ax them. Remember for every dollar you save it’s then directly reflected to your profit.

Small Business Digital Marketing that Converts

If you know anything about small business, then you know its overall mission is to attract customers that are interested in your products and services. You might have tried Google ads, or FB and social media marketing to some success. The problem with many digital marketing methods is you pay your money and cross your fingers that sales with convert. I have personally tried almost every type of digital marketing you can think of and the only one that sticks out for me is official email marketing. Email has been the only marketing method that provides the ability to grow massive contacts databases easily and responsibly. With email marketing you can send out thousands of emails an hour and have a web-based dashboard manage and automate the entire technical process. If I had to choose only one digital marketing platform to build my business it would be email marketing.

On developing YOUR unique expression through business to reflect an elegant simplicity with depth and meaning.

1. Be Nimble

Take a page from the tech startup playbook, and adopt a “Rapid Prototyping” mindset.

You’ve gotta start somewhere, and you won’t know until you take the action, see the results, and learn from real reactions from real people.

Don’t chase your tail in circles, waiting for all those marketing exercises to look perfect. Stop thinking if you get the approval of some business coach, your business will be bulletproof.

Hone in on your genius by doing good work… and see where you excel.

Be willing to pivot. Commit to excellence, not convenience.

Don’t get too attached just because you’ve invested time and money in some training or certification. Everything builds up to a final expression that’s uniquely yours because you’re bringing to the table a one-of-a-kind combination of skills and experiences.

2. Don’t Spread Too Thin

We’ve been told a million and one things we need to “fill the funnel” – the freebies, the tripwire, the eBook, the online course, the big group program, the small group program, the private coaching, and the live event.

When those coaches break up the numbers and show you how to get to “6 figures,” it sounds pretty darn good… if you can do 7 things all at once.

Yet, chances are, you’re not a genius in delivering every single format. You may suck at some and drag your ass on others… people can smell it miles away if you aren’t excited about it.

If it’s just something to check off the list, don’t do it.

You don’t have to fill up every single “rung” of what a “business model” should look like. You don’t have to offer everything everyone is selling.

You need to find the expressions that allow you to be in your zone of genius as much as possible. And get unapologetically good at it.

3. Redefine “Leveraging”

What about “leveraging?” You may ask – because that’s another irresponsible sound byte so many are tossing around.

Irresponsible because it’s defined rather narrowly in most cases and often send us down a rabbit hole.

Think outside “leveraging = 1: many” box in the form of digital products, online courses or group programs.

(Note that you have to invest time and effort to create those content before you even get paid… there’s always an opportunity cost. Is it the best way to spend your time and genius? Have you done the work to make sure you don’t hear cricket when you launch?)

Leveraging can just simply mean that you hone your skills, get amazingly good at it, articulate the value and relevance so you can charge a premium.

4. Forget “Charge What You’re Worth”

This is my big pet peeve.

Don’t tie your self-worth with what people pay you… so disempowering.

I’ve heard coaches being told in whatever training that they’ve to charge some crazy amount per month (even if they’re just starting out)… otherwise, they’re not doing it right.

Stop.

Before we talk number, let’s talk what the number is about.

It’s about what you bring to the table. It’s about how you create meaning and deliver value.

It’s about whether you can say it out loud with confidence and conscience.

Your fee is only as good as what people are willing to pay – and it depends on how confidently and genuinely you can articulate the value, and do good work to deliver above and beyond your promise.

Those who charge $10k a month, and make it worth every penny and more, didn’t start there. They deliver, and they demand a fair exchange for the value they create for their clients.

Get to work. Don’t put yourself on the pedestal. Put yourself in the trenches.

5. Get Out Of the Bubble

All the coaching, programs, and training are putting us in the echo chamber.

It took me almost a year to detox so I can hear mySELF think.

Do what’s right for you. Don’t get sucked into sound bytes and rhetoric.

We’re seeing a backlash to all the sales messages, online courses, and coaching program in this space. When everyone wants to sell you something that sounds just like the next guy, the market gets jaded, skeptical and resistant.

You need to be surer than ever what YOU and your business need at this moment before investing. It’s not “if you’re unwilling to invest in yourself (and whip out the credit card now) you can’t expect others to invest in you” rhetoric – which is selfish, fear-based BS.

It’s not just the money. It’s the TIME and mental space – if you spend time and mental space on one thing, you won’t have it for others that actually matter.

6. Be Honest With Yourself

At the end of the journey, YOU are what matters.

Enough asking your Facebook group buddies how to make your decisions. Don’t be intellectually lazy. Take responsibility.

Most people you meet along the way will eventually fall off – what you do needs to be meaningful to you.

Ling Wong:: Intuitive Brainiac | Creativity Mentor | Copywriting Alchemist. Author of “Copywriting Alchemy: Secrets to Turning a Powerful Personal Brand Into Content that Sells” now available on Amazon.

Through her unique blend of marketing coaching, content strategy and copywriting process, she helps the maverick-preneurs uncover, articulate & transform their WHY into content that connects, resonates and converts – by way of an intuitive yet rigorous iterative process born out of her Harvard Design School training and 15 years experience in the online marketing industry.

Ling is Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, and Email Marketing certified. Through her writing engagements with various SaaS and marketing companies with the goals of driving organic traffic, building readership and increasing conversion, she’s well-versed in topics including online marketing, content marketing, eCommerce, conversion, UX, social media marketing, and more.

She helps coaches, consultants, service professionals, solopreneurs and small businesses apply these best practices to their specific business models and circumstances.

Any business requires capital and investment. When we use the word ‘capital’, we refer to the entrepreneur’s stake in the business. Investments refer to the stake of the other shareholders. You need both of these quantities in good measure to run a successful business empire. Let us now focus on the different ways of raising money.

Raising Money

When you venture into the market seeking ways to raise money, you get hundreds of people advising you on the different ways to raise and manage money. However, none of them may ever sign a check for you. There are rough and smooth times in the market. We have listed some simple ways of raising capital.

Seed Capital

The amount of money you bring in when venturing into any kind of business initiative is the seed capital. You can also take the advantage of angel investors today. There are people who are ready to fund start-up industries all over the world. However, you need to have a strong project to attract angel investors. You have to make sure that you keep up the trust reposed on you by these angel investors.

Bank Loans:

Availing bank loans is the second most popular way of raising money other than bringing in one’s share of capital. In this liberalized age, you can find many banks formulating loan options for new start-up entrepreneurs to acquire machinery, working capital, etc. Some banks have plans where you do not have to provide any kind of collateral security. Searching for such options should be your priority.

Raise Funds:

You can raise funds from people you know such as friends and relatives. You can also raise funds from the market. Having a viable project on hand is a pre-requisite for raising funds from the market. People will have to believe in your ability to generate profits. No one likes to invest in a loss making company. The first steps are difficult. However, if you overcome the initial hardships and prove your ability to succeed, you will never face any shortage of funds from the market.

Have advisors invest in your business:

People are generally good at giving advice to others because it does not cost them any money. A successful businessperson is one who makes these advisors invest in the business. In this way, he or she can make sure that he or she gets great financial advice every time.

Conclusion:

Managing these funds and channeling them into profit is not easy. It generates a great amount of stress.

Business has its crests and troughs. Naturally, there is an element of stress in business. When you do not do well, stress can accumulate and bring you down even further. Therefore, a successful businessperson is one who is able to manage stress. You can never avoid stress. Managing stress is the key to becoming successful in business. I have shared some methods that can help reduce stress during the course of this article.

Relieving Stress

First, money is important, but not everything in life. You will have to learn to take the losses in stride. It is easy for anyone to preach. Nevertheless, one can reduce stress by having an open mind. This open mind allows us to absorb the losses as part of life. If you manage to do this, you have won half the battle against stress.

Ascertain the facts:

When you are suffering losses, something has gone wrong somewhere. It is advisable to ascertain the facts and analyze your mistakes with a cool head. This will enable you to plan well. When you realize your mistakes, you will not repeat them. Thus, you can find ways to beat the stress.

Identify the cause of the stress:

Stress can be of two types. When you start worrying about things you are afraid of or do not wish to happen, you accumulate ‘Bad Stress’. At the same, when you stress over real issues, you experience ‘Good Stress’. Distinguish between the two stresses and prioritize your fight against stress. This will make your life easier.

Take the advice of experts:

When you take the advice of others, you are simply sharing your burden. Your shoulders become light thereby enabling you to think fresh. At the same time, you get a third party perspective on things. A financial expert can suggest some beautiful ways to get away from financial stress. Taking the advice of such people is always beneficial to you in the end.

Pause and proceed:

This is one of the time-tested methods of relieving stress. Taking a pause or a deep breath can help you analyze things with a cool mind. You usually end up finding the solution to your problems almost immediately. Relaxing your mind and body is essential. If possible, take a break and go for a nice holiday to recharge your batteries.

Take care of your health:

There are many things in life more important than money. The sooner you realize and accept this fact, the better you will start to feel. Your health plays a great role in relieving stress. Taking care of your health is of paramount importance.