I thought it would be interesting for you to know what my big wins in business this year have been. I really respect people who are honest in business, and I always try to show the reality of running a business too.
I have no airs and graces and there are no filters on what I do. So, I am going to share with you the reality of my year. I hope you get some gems of wisdom from it, or some inspiration.
As a business owner I still need to invest time and energy into my marketing to make my business work. I love marketing. So, I’m probably more equipped to understand what I need to do in my business and the creative ideas flow. However, it still takes time and effort for me to do this. If I didn’t do any marketing, then my business wouldn’t be successful.
1 – Even when I’m busy I do marketing
I am probably the busiest I’ve ever been in my business. But that doesn’t mean I need to take my foot off the gas and relax thinking everything is hunky dory. It is really important when you’re in business to keep going. When you are busy and successful you need to keep on going with your marketing. As perhaps in a few months’ time things will quieten down again and you’ll be back to square one. So, when you are busy you still need to find time to update your website, to schedule your social media posts. Or attend that networking as this is the key to business growth. If you stop shouting about yourself and your business, then you can guarantee a competitor will fill that gap.
2 – Word of mouth is key
By far, the best piece of marketing comes through word of mouth. I’ve always known this, but I’ve really seen it in action in 2021. Many people have joined this group or made enquiries because someone told them about me. By continually marketing, building up a good reputation and doing a good job really is the best form of marketing. People love recommendations and will tell other about you if you do a god job for them.
3 – I do my own social media
Before the pandemic hit I used to outsource my social media. I had a marketing assistant who used to help me write posts and share them. However, I was so out of touch with what was going on. I didn’t really engage with others and it was a bit of an afterthought. It wasn’t until we went into lockdown and I sadly had to say goodbye to my assistant that I started really embracing it for myself. I had always focused on other people’s social media and had neglected my own. This made me take a step back and really look at what I was doing for others. As a result I stopped managing other people’s social media.
Now, I’m not saying don’t use someone to look after it for you. There are some great social media managers out there. But the true genius and what prompted me to start this group, is what you add to social media personally. Social media is all about being social and showing your personality. Social media has developed so much over the last few years. Now you need to put your own personal stamp on it. This has dramatically changed my social media and it’s so much more powerful than it was before.
4 – Let go of what is not working
I’ve had a couple of years of changing things up and experimenting. Looking at the things I’m doing (like social media management) and let go of what is not working for me. As a result I’ve changed how I run training and courses. I’ve let some clients go and I’ve dropped some social media channels (which has been the biggest challenge for me).
I’ve tried to focus on what services me best and put everything into that. I’ve learnt to accept that not everything works, but to let go of the baggage when it doesn’t.
5 – I’ve learnt to understand what success is
There are so many people shouting for attention online. There are so many people saying how to get X number of followers or to make X amount of money. I felt like I was getting sucked into this vacuum. That I needed to do more and make more money. In reality, I was losing sight of what success meant to me.
After a strategy and planning session with my husband, I truly realised that success to me is not about how many followers I have or how much money I make. It’s about making enough money to pay the bills and afford nice things. To know I have a financially secure future. To love doing what I do and work with some amazing clients. To build up a good reputation and to have the flexibility and freedom to take time for me, my family and my kids. I couldn’t do that in a 9-5 job.
My Dad has been poorly recently. I’ve had to take on a lot of care for him, but my business allows me to do that.
So, success is already what I have achieved and anything on top of that is a bonus! I don’t need to be a millionaire, have a huge following or be “known”. It’s just to carry on doing what I do and my word that is being successful already!
Please join me on any of my courses or on my Facebook Group Marketing Made Easy With Lisa.