With our new bi-weekly Business Mastery Series, Bliss Virtual Services wants to help you close out 2022 with invaluable insights that will catapult your endeavors in the new year.
According to Oberlo.com, COVID-19 rendered 31% of small businesses non-operational. To add fuel to the fire, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the current state of our economy and The Great Resignation. Here are seven ways you can sustain, and even thrive in your business, during a global recession or crisis:
Identify your ‘Ideal Client’ and learn how to speak their language. Niching down your target audience is a non-negotiable when starting and scaling a business. Find out where your people are, what they like, how to serve it to them, and ways to keep them coming back for more. Register for this free mastermind that will help you get clear on your messaging.
Perform a SWOT Analysis and establish your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). You don’t have a scalable business if you haven’t created bench markers. It’s like starting a fitness journey before assessing your pantry and refrigerator to determine which foods (if not all) you should throw out immediately. A SWOT Analysis and KPIs are foundational to your success. If you aren’t measuring your efforts, remember, it’s a hobby you’re running – not a business.
Implement a seamless workflow. Make it easy to communicate and collaborate with your clients, partners, and team members. There’s a plethora of technology on the market to ensure a smooth communication journey. Here are several tools we highly-recommend at Bliss – Calendly, Zoom, Slack, Monday.com, Google Workspace, and DropBox.
Decide what you 'love' doing in your business and own it. Staying on top of trends will keep you fresh and excited in your endeavor. It will also help you identify the things you enjoy most about running your organization. For example, if you enjoy producing your monthly newsletter, reserve a half-day each week to brainstorm and draft topics, helpful tips and resources that interest your ideal clients.
Delegate what you 'loathe' doing in your business and get back to doing what you love. Nothing is worse than an uninspired entrepreneur. Yes, you can boast about having your own business, but if the operations side of things are visibly killing your spirit, it’s time to reassess why this is happening. Determine the things that you absolutely need to be hands-on in your business day-to-day. If important tasks are starting to slip through the cracks, it’s time to seek the help of an experienced virtual assistant, or partner with an agency that specializes in ‘critical touchpoints’ in your customer journey.
Implement a referral program. Trust us - this will save you thousands on marketing dollars in the long run. Happy clients who can’t wait to tell prospective clients that you are the one responsible for their happiness are the REAL MVPs in any business model.
Survey, Survey, Survey. This is where many new entrepreneurs drop the ball. It doesn’t matter how awesome you feel your new, shiny product or service is – what matters most is what ‘your customers’ feel about your new, shiny product or service so ASK THEM and be willing to accept the constructive feedback. Surveying will never go out of style therefore existing businesses should adopt the practice as well – especially given the ever-evolving demands of the customer experience.
By N. Renee McFadden
Chief Bliss Officer
Bliss Virtual Services
More to come in this series:
Mastering The Art of The Pivot
Mastering The Art of The Sale
Mastering The Art of Servant Leadership