It’s a brand new year, and time for a fresh start, a fresh you, and a new outlook on your business! As entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves taking on many roles, and often lose sight of the bigger picture, or worse, the bottom line. Have you found yourself falling into one of these three common roles: the marketer, the manager, or the employee? There’s nothing wrong with wearing many hats in your business, but beware of falling into these common traps!
The Marketer: I’m Stuck & Not Getting Results!
Do you ever feel like you’re doing the same thing, just in different ways? What’s worse is you’re not getting results, so you’re stuck. For example, you keep blogging, or sending the same email newsletter, but no matter how hard you try, you’re just not getting the engagement, leads, or sales you were hoping for? Or you keep running the same Facebook ad, but it’s just not getting a return on ad spend?
So often, we get stuck in strategies and marketing efforts just to “get things done”, but we don’t measure our results, and therefore can’t make impactful decisions. This is one of the most common traps entrepreneurs get stuck in, and the new year is about breaking this cycle. The first tip to help you step into a marketing role that actually impacts your business and your bottom line, is to critically examine all marketing and business efforts that aren’t generating money or contributing to the bottom line in some way.
Start by measuring the impact of your content and marketing efforts. If your strategy is not doing one of three things: creating engagement, generating leads, or making sales, you absolutely must:
Step 1. Get clear on what your customer needs and wants. Ask them. Speak to them directly on social media, run a poll, or send out an email survey asking them what some of the greatest challenges they’re having are.
Step 2. Give more than you’re giving. Ask yourself, am I really giving enough value in my content and packages? Where and how can I increase the value? See if you are able to throw in some bonuses and “can’t refuse” offers to provide services that will, without a doubt, make an impact on your customers’ lives.
The Manager: I’m Overwhelmed & Losing Sight of Long-Term Goals!
One of the greatest traps the manager falls into is feeling like “they have to do it alone.” The truth is that this is both unrealistic and unhealthy, often leading to ineffective results, burn-out, and costly errors. If this is something you struggle with, it’s important to establish a support system and a team that you trust and respect. An entrepreneur must remain, first and foremost, the core visionary of the business. If an entrepreneur loses sight of how the business is doing and where it’s heading next, because “they’re too busy” or “overwhelmed”, they can’t focus on strengthening stakeholder relationships, product and service innovation, and long-term goals. Ask yourself:
- What is taking more time than it should and can I delegate?
- What are my strengths and am I using them to the best of my ability?
- Where can I delegate aspects of my business that I’m not so great at?
The Employee: This Feels Like a Job & I’m Not Growing Anymore!
As entrepreneurs, we start our businesses because we want to help others and do what we love. It’s that simple! But so often, we don’t realize that we’re falling into the shadows of a monotonous role where we struggle with effective leadership and management. As a result, our creativity and imagination feels stunted, and we’re looking for answers to get back into the driver’s seat and grow! One of the best ways to shift out of feeling like you’re an employee and stepping into the role of a leader is to join a community of like-minded entrepreneurs. When you are a part of a community of fellow leaders who are willing to support you, offer key insights, resources, tools and solutions, you will grow 10X faster than you would on your own. The best part? A community will continually remind you of your mission, and your goals, keeping you motivated, inspired, and focused on making an impact every day!
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