17Dec
How Small Businesses Can Stand Out in a Saturated Market

There’s a well-known saying, “In a world where you can be anything, be unique.” This resonates with many small business owners navigating the crowded commercial landscape. Standing out is no longer a choice; it’s a necessity. So, how can a small business differentiate itself? Here are some effective strategies to create a distinctive identity.

1. Stellar Customer Service

The first and foremost approach is to offer exceptional customer service. Big corporations may lack the personal touch that you, as a small business, can provide. Know your customers, anticipate their needs, and exceed their expectations. This isn’t just about solving problems or handling complaints; it’s about creating an overall positive customer experience that instills loyalty and leads to word-of-mouth referrals.

2. Unique Branding

Your brand should tell a story. It should represent your business ethos, your values, and what makes you different. Everything from your logo and tagline to your online presence and office décor should reflect this. Unique, consistent branding fosters recognition and builds a connection with your customers.

3. Showcase Expertise

As a small business, it’s vital to exhibit your deep knowledge and expertise in your field. Educate your customers through blog posts, social media updates, webinars, or even in-person workshops. These efforts demonstrate your authority, increase your visibility, and foster trust with your audience.

4. Community Involvement

Being a part of the community can help differentiate your business. Attend local events, sponsor a youth sports team, or donate to local charities. Not only does this build goodwill, but it also increases local visibility and helps build strong relationships with customers.

5. User-Generated Content

Leverage user-generated content to amplify your brand’s reach and authenticity. Encourage customers to share photos, reviews, or testimonials. This creates a sense of community around your brand and provides social proof that can persuade potential customers.

6. Personalize Your Products or Services

If possible, personalize your offerings. This could be as simple as offering customizable features or as complex as tailoring your service to individual client needs. Personalization enhances customer satisfaction and can make your business the go-to for those seeking a product or service tailored to their specific requirements.

7. Sustainable Practices

In a world increasingly concerned about climate change and social issues, sustainable practices can make a small business stand out. This might involve sourcing products ethically, minimizing waste, or contributing to social causes. This not only resonates with ethically-minded consumers but also shows your commitment to a bigger cause.

8. Collaborate with Complementary Businesses

Collaboration can help you reach a wider audience. Find complementary businesses and explore opportunities for partnerships. This could take the form of bundled offerings, cross-promotions, or joint events. Collaborations provide mutual benefits and can make your business more attractive to customers seeking convenience and value.

9. Leverage Technology

Technological advancements offer many opportunities for small businesses. Whether it’s implementing a chatbot to provide instant customer support, using data analytics to understand consumer behavior, or harnessing social media for targeted marketing, technology can help your business stand out.

10. Be Flexible and Adapt

Perhaps one of the most significant advantages a small business has over larger competitors is agility. Small businesses can pivot quickly in response to changing market conditions, customer preferences, or innovative trends. Embrace this flexibility and show your customers that you’re adaptable and forward-thinking.

In conclusion, standing out as a small business in today’s crowded market requires creativity, dedication, and a keen understanding of your customers’ needs and desires. By offering stellar customer service, unique branding, demonstrating expertise, engaging with the community, utilizing user-generated content, personal

izing offerings, adopting sustainable practices, collaborating with other businesses, leveraging technology, and showing flexibility, you can differentiate yourself and achieve success. Remember, the ultimate goal is not to be everything to everyone, but to be something incredible for those who matter: your customers.

29Nov
The Art of Employee Retention: Keeping your Team Engaged and Motivated

In today’s rapidly evolving corporate landscape, one of the most pressing challenges organizations face is employee retention. Retaining top talent has become a strategic imperative for businesses, not only due to the financial costs associated with high turnover, but also because high-performing, committed employees are key drivers of organizational success. Let’s delve into why employee retention matters and how you can foster an environment that encourages employees to stay.

Understanding the Importance of Employee Retention

The significance of employee retention stems from its multiple ramifications. High attrition rates not only lead to increased recruitment costs but can also hamper productivity, destabilize teams, erode company culture, and damage a company’s reputation. Conversely, a lower turnover rate ensures knowledge continuity, promotes a healthy work culture, and bolsters overall performance.

Strategies for Effective Employee Retention

Now that we’ve established the importance of employee retention, let’s explore strategies to boost it within your organization.

1. Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits

While money isn’t everything, it’s certainly a significant factor in job satisfaction. Employees must feel that they’re being compensated fairly for their skills and effort.

Solution: Regularly review your compensation packages to ensure they align with or exceed industry standards. Additionally, offer comprehensive benefits packages and consider perks like flexible hours, work-from-home options, or wellness programs that can improve work-life balance.

2. Foster a Positive Work Culture

A healthy, positive work environment goes a long way in retaining employees. It engenders a sense of belonging and allows individuals to thrive.

Solution: Build a culture rooted in respect, transparency, collaboration, and inclusivity. Encourage team-building activities and open communication. Recognize and reward good work to motivate employees and foster a positive atmosphere.

3. Provide Growth and Development Opportunities

Ambitious employees seek growth – both professional and personal. If they feel stagnant in their roles, they are likely to look elsewhere for opportunities.

Solution: Invest in your employees’ development. Offer training programs, mentorship opportunities, and clear career progression paths. Encourage employees to take on new challenges and responsibilities that will enable them to acquire new skills and grow.

4. Listen to Employee Feedback

Employees want to feel heard and valued. Ignoring their feedback or concerns can lead to frustration and disengagement.

Solution: Establish platforms where employees can voice their opinions and suggestions. Regularly conduct surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and act on the feedback received. An open-door policy can also facilitate dialogue and make employees feel valued.

5. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

Today’s employees, particularly the younger generations, highly value work-life balance. Overworking your team can lead to burnout and disengagement.

Solution: Encourage employees to take time off to relax and rejuvenate. Ensure that workload distribution is fair, and offer flexibility where possible. Showing concern for your employees’ lives outside of work can help cultivate loyalty and satisfaction.

6. Implement a Robust Onboarding Process

The onboarding process sets the tone for an employee’s journey in your company. A poor onboarding experience can lead to early departures.

Solution: Create a comprehensive onboarding program that welcomes new hires, familiarizes them with their roles and the company culture, and provides the necessary training for them to perform their jobs effectively.

In conclusion, employee retention is more of an art than a science. It requires a deep understanding of people’s motivations, continuous effort, and a genuine commitment to creating a work environment that respects, values, and nurtures your team. Remember, your employees are your most valuable asset, and investing in their satisfaction and growth is an investment in your company’s long-term success. With these strategies, you can significantly boost your employee retention rate, promoting a happier, more productive workplace.

15Oct
The Power of Surveys: Harnessing Customer Feedback for Business Success

Today’s dynamic and ever-evolving business environment demands constant interaction with customers. In the age of the customer, where expectations and preferences shift at the speed of a click, understanding your consumers’ needs and adapting to meet them is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. One of the most effective tools businesses have at their disposal to gain these invaluable insights is the customer feedback survey. Customer feedback surveys are a crucial ingredient to business success, and their importance cannot be overstated. Here are some reasons why.

A Direct Line to Your Customer’s Mind

At its core, a business revolves around its customers. The ability to get inside the mind of the customer is a superpower that every business should aim to possess. Customer feedback surveys provide just that – a direct line to understanding what the customer thinks, feels, needs, and wants. Surveys offer an opportunity for customers to voice their opinions and feelings in a structured, systematic way. This enables businesses to quantify and analyze data, identify patterns, and formulate actionable strategies. The feedback received can be about a product, a service, a process, or the overall customer experience. No other tool is as direct and efficient in capturing the voice of the customer.

Customer Retention and Loyalty

Businesses often focus on customer acquisition, but retaining existing customers is equally, if not more, important. It is estimated that acquiring a new customer costs five times more than retaining an existing one. Customer feedback surveys play a crucial role in identifying potential issues that could cause a customer to leave, thus helping companies retain their customer base.

Surveys also show customers that their opinion matters, making them feel valued and heard. This increases customer loyalty and advocacy, turning customers into powerful brand ambassadors.

Refining and Innovating Products or Services

Feedback received from customers can act as an essential resource for product development and innovation. Surveys can reveal what features or aspects of a product or service customers love, and more importantly, what they don’t. Businesses can then refine their offerings accordingly to improve customer satisfaction and market fit. Furthermore, surveys often uncover innovative ideas or trends that a company may have overlooked, driving future growth and setting the company apart from its competition.

Improving Customer Experience

Customer experience is the sum total of a customer’s interactions and perceptions about a company. A positive customer experience fosters loyalty, enhances reputation, and increases sales. Regularly conducting customer feedback surveys allows a business to assess and enhance each touchpoint in the customer’s journey, ensuring a stellar customer experience.

Informed Decision-making

Business decisions, be they strategic or tactical, benefit significantly from reliable data. Customer feedback surveys provide a wealth of quantifiable data, translating subjective experiences into objective insights. This information empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions that align with customer preferences and expectations.

Benchmarking Performance

Finally, regular surveys help businesses benchmark their performance over time and against competitors. It is a way to measure if efforts to improve customer experience, product quality, or service delivery are working.

In conclusion, customer feedback surveys are a powerful tool in the business arsenal. They provide deep insights into customer perceptions, preferences, and pain points. However, conducting surveys is only half the battle. The key lies in analyzing the data, acting on the feedback, and communicating changes back to the customer. This creates a feedback loop that fosters continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, business success.

No business can afford to ignore the voice of its customers. In a world where every customer’s opinion can reach a global audience in seconds, the power and importance of customer feedback surveys have never been greater.

27Sep
Invoicing Mistakes Costing You Money

As a business owner, you have a lot on your plate. It is very easy to overlook simple tasks like invoicing when you already have many other priorities. However, beware of these invoicing mistakes that are costing you money. It is something that should require your full attention since small mistakes could become costly to your business. These mistakes can easily be avoided and you will encounter fewer problems in the long term.

Not sending invoices in a timely manner

It is important that you do not procrastinate sending out the invoice. The invoice needs to be prepared as soon as possible and sent to the client immediately. Delays in dispatching the invoice to the client will only affect your business by not getting payment in time. This is something that can easily be avoided to assure you are not wasting any time and assure the proper cash flow of your company.

Not having payment terms

By not specifying the payment terms to the client, they will not know when to pay. This leaves the deadline open to interpretation and most likely causes the client to pay much later or forget entirely. You need to include the terms for example it’s often written as Net 7, 10, or 30 days. This means that the client has 7, 10, or 30 days to make a payment depending on when you choose.

Not specifying payment methods

You need to make it as easy as possible for the client to make a payment and if they do not know how they can pay, then it will result in further delays. Clearly indicating what payment methods they can use, will avoid delays caused either by the client contacting you to ask or by the client pushing it off and forgetting entirely.

Not following up on your invoices

It is important to follow up on your invoices this will make sure that the client has in fact received them. Sometimes, clients will forget to make a payment and by following up with them it will remind them to pay right away. Other times, some clients need to be badgered in order to get the payment from them. In either case, following up will solve the problem is receiving anything late and to assure they received it at all.

Incorrect information

Make sure that the invoice is addressed to the correct person. It is possible that the invoice will not be billed to the same person that you had contact with when you are dealing with a bigger business. Also pay attention that all other information on the invoice is correct such as an address, pricing, and even spelling. Incorrect spelling will make your business look unprofessional which is not an impression you want to give. Before sending out the invoice, double-check that it is the correct information.

Itemizing

It is a good idea to include a list of charges that you are charging the client. This way it will be easier for the client to understand their charges. There will be less confusion and therefore less reason for the client to contact you with any questions that will further delay the payment.

Invoicing and receiving payment is a key part of a business that you need to have under control. When sending out an invoice, your goal is to make it as clear as possible for the client. Set up payment terms, be clear with how you accept payment, and follow up on all invoices to make sure you are paid. The less confusion there is the easier it will be for the client to pay right away.

17Sep
Marketing to Millennials

Social media has emerged as a critical component of marketing to millennials. According to one study, millennials now make up the majority of the population in the United States. As a result, millennials have the world’s largest consumer base. So, in order for your company to grow, Millennials can play a significant role. Here are some general characteristics of Millennials that set them apart from the general population.

Millennials are more likely than older generations to conduct online product research prior to making a purchase.

Authenticity & Transparency: Millennials, the discerning consumers of today, hold authenticity and transparency in marketing to the highest regard.

Influencing friends and family: This group is more likely to discuss their brand experiences and purchasing decisions on social media, making word-of-mouth marketing particularly effective.

Experiential marketing is a strategy that can be successful with millennials. It involves creating memorable events or experiences that engage the consumer.

In spite of their propensity to shop online, millennials still value in-person interactions and are more likely to make impulsive purchases in physical stores. For many millennials, sustainable and socially conscious business practices are crucial, so emphasizing those features of a product or company can be a successful marketing tactic. Remember that these are generalizations and that not all millennials will fit these descriptions.

There are key things that you need to understand about millennials in order to sell to this market. Doing this will allow you to capitalize on this digitally inclined demographic while increasing profits for your business. Here are a couple things you need to know when marketing to millennials.

Outbound Marketing is Out

Millennials want to feel connected and involved when it comes to their purchases. Traditional marketing does not encourage this. Outbound marketing methods like magazine ads, direct mail campaigns, and radio spots, do not work well with Millennials and should as much as possible, not be used.

Millennials know what they want and, since they are so digitally savvy, they know how to find it online. That is why these young consumers do a lot of their research via blogs, forums, and YouTube videos.

Word-to-mouth culture

Millennials are glued to their devices because they constantly need to be connected. Product reviews and social tools are readily accessible to them. This allows them to research and share opinions before they commit to a product. They purchase from brands and products they can trust and that are endorsed by Instagram influencers or real people.

Instagram influencer marketing is the result of this word-to-mouth culture that values trusted endorsements. It’s not just about having celebrities to make the consumer buy things, it’s about advertising real people. People that the consumer can relate to and trust. A survey shows that 61% of people will trust a friend’s endorsement of a brand and are more willing to buy from that brand. Social media is a way of creating this brand loyalty, it provides an unofficial endorsement in the form of user-generated content that can be reposted by the brand.

Respond to customer service requests, create campaigns that engage customers, and don’t just promote products but add informative posts and info on social channels. By incorporating these strategies into your marketing efforts you can generate/ drive traffic to your website and broadcast your brand’s core values.

You have an 8-second window

Millennials have a very short attention span. Their focus is constantly shifting from one thing to the next. If your content does not capture their attention in the first 8 seconds, then it becomes irrelevant. This is why there is such a high demand for content creators because it’s not easy coming up with something that will grab people’s attention in such a short time frame. You need to be able to help them understand what your product is about and why they should care within those few first seconds.

We have become very fast that if visually something is not appealing then we are not interested and we move on to the next best thing out there. There are so many products available on the market that you need to be able to prove why yours is the best for your consumer and why it matters. The world is constantly changing and improving and if you are not the first or the best to do something then you will completely become irrelevant in a matter of seconds.

You need to visually look the part

Millennials judge with their eyes first. Your website, brand, or ad content needs to be up to par. Visually it needs to be appealing, in style, and professional. If your content looks old or outdated then your brand or product will lose credibility, regardless of what you are selling. Not to mention you will not even have their attention for more than a second.

This generation is obsessed with creating and sharing video content. It is on every social media platform where people can upload short clips and stories on either Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat.  YouTube has become very popular over the past decade and anyone is free to share almost whatever they want.  Just about anyone can become famous. YouTube stars are becoming just as popular as celebrities.

Creating video content is the best way to create a connection with millennials. It is a way of grabbing their small attention span. They will be more interested in watching something than reading an ad or looking at a picture since they are so quick to scroll through images. However, your video needs to be professional and visually appealing. You need to create a connection with them, inspire them, and give them a reason to keep watching.

You need to be in more places than one

Millennials have developed a culture of multitasking by constantly switching between devices and platforms. Our generation is plugged into their devices and our attention is split between different platforms. We’re constantly scrolling, switching, and looking at different things.  Our attention is not on one social networking app but on multiple platforms all at once. If you plan on running ads through YouTube only then this may not be very effective, as the majority of people will switch devices as soon as an ad campaign comes on.  However, this division of attention is used to benefit strategic ad campaigns. By dividing your brand’s ad investment into different platforms, you can extend your reach across different channels.

Brand storytelling

In order to reach millennials, you need to create content that means something to them or that they can relate to. They are receptive to brand storytelling. This generation values being acknowledged, being presented with options, and feeling connected. Your message needs to be intelligent, thoughtful, and inclusive. It is about including everyone together. Millennials are interested in products that are sustainable and make a difference. Slowly products are trying to incorporate these values, which have been attracting millennials to purchase their products.  This makes a huge difference when advertising to your demographic, as this generation is more inclined in making a difference. When your product means something and makes a difference, then they will be attracted to your brand or product.

Marketing tactics that might have worked in the past recently changed due to this digitally inclined generation. By directly addressing this generation, brands will be able to create a connection between them and the consumer. Engaging millennials sustain these connections and transform ads.

16Jul
Should You Take Out That Loan or Not?

Should you take out that loan or not?

There are numerous factors you must consider while expanding a startup. How you plan to finance your business is one of the most crucial factors. Small business loans are frequently used by startups to fund operations, but without sound financial management, taking on more debt could be harmful to the company.

How can you tell if taking on more debt is necessary to run your startup? What inquiries must you make of yourself before submitting a loan application?

5 inquiries to make before incurring debt

Your business may be able to get the funding it needs through a loan in order to expand and grow. You can use it to manage your cash flow and get out of difficult financial situations. However, borrowing money is a big decision that shouldn’t be made hastily. Before taking out a loan, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. How will I use the funds?

The first thing to think about is what you will need the money for. Small businesses borrow money for many different reasons. Maybe you need to raise money for a renovation or new equipment or perhaps you need to cover unforeseen expenses or changes in your cash flow due to the seasons. Whatever the reason, it is important to understand the rationale behind your loan decisions and how it will help your company.

2. What amount do I need?

After knowing why you need to raise more money, you need to make an educated guess as to how much you’ll need.

The following information will help you decide how much money to borrow from lenders.

You must first estimate how much money you will need based on the anticipated revenue and operating expenses for your business. The loan’s interest rate is the next thing you should think about. As the interest rate rises, so does the cost of the loan. You should also consider your ability to make the loan’s monthly payments. A loan’s associated costs must also be considered. These fees can add up quickly, so you must be careful to include them in your overall borrowing costs.

3. Do I make enough money to take on extra debt?

One of the most important things to think about is whether you will be able to repay the loan you are taking out. If you are unable to pay the loan installments out of your revenue, your business can suffer. You run the risk of losing investors for your startup. Your personal and corporate credit profiles can both suffer as a result.

4. Which finance option will best meet my needs?

It might be difficult to choose the loan type that is best for your business when there are so many different types of loans available. It all comes down to knowing the loan’s purpose. By knowing what you’ll do with the money, you’ll be able to choose the type of loan that best suits your requirements.

You can give us a call if you’re unsure of the kind of loan that would be best for your small business. The PME fund is one option for some to consider.

5. What does my credit profile look like?

A summary of your credit history is included in your credit profile. It contains details about your credit accounts, including loans, credit cards, and mortgages. It also contains details about your credit usage and payment history.

Your company credit score, which ranges from 0 to 100, serves as a representation of your credit profile. Borrowers with a business credit score of at least 75 are frequently approved for loans. If your score is lower than that, you may want to raise it before applying for credit. As a result, your chances of obtaining financing will increase.

It is essential for startups to think carefully about whether taking on debt is the best course of action for their company. In some circumstances, slower growth without borrowing money could be preferable. In other situations, borrowing money could be necessary to achieve the level of growth that the startup needs to be successful.

26Feb
Avoid Startup Failure

A startup niche is what?

What exactly is a niche, and how does it help to avoid startup failure? It primarily refers to a specific target audience rather than a broad, generalized approach. By identifying demographics, geography, economic status, education level, and unique perspectives, you can tailor your messaging to a specific audience.

At a deeper level, it entails understanding your company’s position in the larger economic landscape. What differentiates you from competitors? Do you provide something unique that addresses a specific need, or do current offerings have flaws? Creating a distinct position for your company is critical to preventing failure. Developing a unique position for your company is crucial when identifying a niche market.

What is the value of a startup niche?

So, why is a startup niche valuable? Contrary to the common belief that targeting a larger audience is better, focusing on a specific niche offers several benefits:

Identity and distinctions

The first step in determining your startup niche is to devise a strategy for distinguishing yourself from the competition. It’s an excellent opportunity to begin developing your brand identity.

Knowing how and why you differ from other companies in your industry can help you set higher brand standards for yourself and begin steadily growing your company. Both now and in the future, your branding and marketing materials will be based on this.

Understanding of the audience

Knowing your niche entails understanding the perspectives and values of your target audience, which allows for more effective communication and marketing strategies. What are their distinct points of view and core values?

If you understand these, you’ll be able to communicate with your target audience much more effectively. Your ability to create more persuasive marketing and advertising materials will improve, as will the likelihood of acquiring a customer during a sales call. Better yet, you can use it to increase customer retention.

Competitive defence

By targeting untapped markets, you can protect your market space from competitors while also lowering marketing costs.

You won’t have to worry about competition invading your economic space if you can create goods and services that are genuinely distinct from those of your competitors. If you target a market that other businesses are completely ignoring, you will benefit from lower marketing costs and increased marketing relevance.

Offensive capabilities

By focusing on a specific niche, you can be more aggressive in your startup niche targeting, directly competing with your biggest competitors by providing better products or appealing to your mutual audiences in a more relevant, targeted manner.

An aggressive competitive strategy emphasizes actively changing your industry and improving all the time in order to stay ahead of the competition. The best way to compete with your opponents is to combine defensive and offensive strategies.

Beginning with the basics

So, how do you discover your startup niche? Here are a few steps:

1. Analyze your competitors to identify market gaps or opportunities.

Once you’ve decided on a basic business concept, begin researching your main competitors. These do not have to be direct competitors offering the same goods and services as you, but they must be related to your industry.

How are they currently putting themselves out there? Who is their target audience? What do they think of themselves? You can use this as inspiration to create your own specialty or try to completely deviate from these norms to differentiate your brand.

2. Conduct market research to determine demographics and trends.

If you have a few ideas for potential target markets or positioning tactics, begin early market research.

Statistic Canada has excellent demographic data for the entire country, and reading publications from major research institutions can help you better understand different populations. As you gain experience, you’ll be able to eliminate customers who aren’t a good fit for your company and start spotting more profitable prospects.

3.Gather feedback from potential customers by conducting surveys and focus groups.

Begin conducting surveys and focus groups if you have a prototype for the product you want to sell or something substantial to show people (such as a demo or 3D model of your product).

You can think about both the demographics you already have in mind and those you haven’t considered yet. What are your customers saying about your product? What do they think of the name of your company? Do they have any suggestions for how to improve? You can get useful advice if you pay attention to the responses of the participants.

4. Create buyer personas to better understand your target audience and guide your marketing and sales strategies.

At this point, you should have enough data to start creating consumer personas. These serve the same purpose as fictitious characters designed to represent the average person in one of your target audiences.

For example, you could create a client persona named “Jerry” to represent urban 30-something men. Customer personas can help you define your niche and make it easier to share information about your target market with other departments like marketing and sales.

Finding your niche

It is not difficult to identify a profitable niche. However, you must conduct the necessary research. Follow these steps to identify a profitable niche in which your startup can thrive and succeed.

29Nov
Building an Advisory Board

Building an advisory board is an overlooked tool that is very beneficial to a business. It consists of a hand-selected group of advisors that believe in your leadership and are there for the sole purpose of providing strategic advice for your business. They are aligned with your culture and mission and are committed to your success. However, forming the perfect advisory board for you may take quite a bit of planning in order to see a strong return on investment. Do not worry though, that is why we are here to help and give you guidelines before you build your own advisory board!

Know who you are and what you stand for

Complete your Values, Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan first. You must know what you stand for, why you exist, and where you are going. You must be able to articulate this to any prospective board member. Think about creating an advisory board composed of people who have already achieved what you are trying to achieve so that you can learn from both their successes and their mistakes. In addition, you must be able to share your target customer profiles and your competitive landscape.

Goals/plan

Create a set of objectives you want your company to reach. By outlining your goals, it allows you to select members that help you reach these objectives. This also sets expectations for your advisory board members. It gives them an idea of what their role and purpose will be while serving on your advisory board. By creating these expectations, it allows you to get exactly what your company needs. The wrong advisors will be a waste of time and money and can potentially lead you down the wrong path.

Choosing the right people

Diversify

After outlining what expertise you and your start-up may lack, it is time to start looking for the right people. Selecting the right advisors is just as important as selecting the right employees. Each person should bring a different background, that way your advisory board will be able to cover every area and offer different perspectives. For example, cybersecurity is now a critical addition to any board. Typically, you want to aim for a small group ranging from no more than 4 people. If you choose carefully then a small group of people will suffice. The smaller the better since it will make for easier communication between you and your members.

Term of Membership

It is often difficult to recruit advisory board members: it is always more difficult to terminate their membership. Advisory board members tend to get comfortable with their positions and take initiative to remove them as personal criticism. Therefore, it may be useful to appoint members to a specific term (one, two, or three years) so that an active step has to be taken to renew membership, rather than to withdraw it going forward. This issue might be particularly important when an advisory board is first being established.

Mentors

Members of an advisory board are composed of people who truly care about the success of you and your company. They have no legal obligation or equity in the business, they act only as your mentor and their main goal is to give you advice. With that being said, you will want to seek people you know within your professional network. This way they will be more willing to mentor you. However, be careful in choosing friends or family, as they may not always give you the most honest advice. Not to mention having friends or family on your advisory board may result in conflict/relationship issues that you will want to avoid. You need people who will be brutally honest and willing to challenge your ideas in order to bring different perspectives to the table.

While reaching out to people within your professional network may be easier, you should also aim to seek people outside your network. Finding members of higher stature might be more difficult but extremely beneficial for your company. They will add credibility and this will play an important role when your start-up is in the early stages of funding. It will give your company some traction, which is crucial in the development of any start-up. Not only will it add credibility but also it can expand your professional network and form contacts that can be very useful in the long term.

How to find mentors

At ProMontreal entrepreneurs, we offer a mentorship program where anyone part of the Jewish community can apply and we will connect you with the perfect mentor for you. Over the years, we have connected with successful entrepreneurs and lawyers who are eager to see start-ups succeed. If you check out our mentors on our website, you will find a list of them on the page already.

Compensation

It is important to remember that the people on the advisory board have no equity in the company and are merely there to guide you because they want to see your company succeed. In the early stages of your business venture, it’s a good idea to reward them with dinners, entertainment, etc. It does not need to be a lot but still something to demonstrate your gratitude for their help. As your company progresses, then you will want to think about higher compensation, maybe even a salary but that is all entirely up to you.

You may not have all the expertise in any business venture you dive into but that is normal. Advisory boards can be helpful and fulfilling, or they can be a waste of time. In the end, you get out of them what you put into their creation, development, and operation. That being said, there are many tools to help you realize your vision so do not be afraid to take the risk.

22Jun
How to Reap Rewards with Instagram Captions

How to reap rewards with Instagram captions. One of the most crucial tools you have for boosting audience engagement on Instagram is the caption. Your followers may be drawn to your images and videos, but it’s the caption that persuades them to share, like, and comment on your post. Your Instagram captions can also boost sales, expand your social media reach, and help you gain more Instagram followers.

You might be wondering, how can you be certain that you’re utilizing the proper captions to foster accomplishment? Here are the tools you need to learn to reap rewards with your Instagram captions.

1. Grab their attention right away

Like most social media platforms, Instagram is all about quick exchanges of information.

On a regular basis, your customers scroll through dozens of images. Since Instagram condenses your description to just three or four lines, you must grab their attention quickly if you want them to stay on your page.

On the news stream, you have even less of a chance of grabbing your reader’s attention because only the first phrase of your caption will be visible. As such, your opening sentence should be written to instantly capture the reader’s attention by doing the following:

• Pose a question: your customer will want to know if you have addressed it.

• Include visuals: make your brand’s personality pop out by using emojis.

•Make a statement: say something that you know will catch the attention of your audience.

• Introduce your call to action first: as soon as a customer views your material, what you want them to do should be clear. Keep in mind that concise lines will attract your audience’s attention more quickly than most wordy Instagram captions. Keep it straightforward and to the point to get your message across.

2. Be a call-to-action master

Your call-to-action (CTA) is the most crucial component of your Instagram caption. It’s how you encourage your followers to interact with your page by leaving a comment on your post or clicking the link in your bio.

However, it is important to refrain from including too many CTAs in a single post. Consequently, having too many CTAs can take away from the caption’s clear purpose. Instead, you should precisely highlight what you want your customer to do for each of your Instagram posts. Below are some examples of the intentions of Instagram posts. Do you want the reader to:

Visit your website?
Click the link in your bio?
Invite their friends to a post?
Shop for a sale?
Subscribe to your newsletter?
Participate in a giveaway or contest?
Save your post for later?
Find the link from your stories?
Send you a DM?
Chat in the comments?
Leave an (insert emoji) if they agree?
Tag someone?

Try a few different possibilities because it might be challenging to predict which CTA phrases will result in the greatest response from your audience. You can choose which call-to-action phrases are best to employ in the future by evaluating your call-to-action phrases’ by their levels of engagement.

3. Tell stories

Spice up your Instagram captions with some storytelling.

A compelling narrative will strengthen your customers’ emotional connection to your brand and help them understand the advantages of your product or service.

When incorporating a compelling narrative into your captions, you should:

Show emotion: grab the reader’s attention with well-written descriptive information that is intended to help them envision or better understand the products you are selling.

Use appropriate language: find, use, and maintain the voice tone that works with your audience. Your stories will be more relatable if you use the same language as your intended audience.

Try being authentic: make your brand look more genuine by discussing your personal experiences. By sharing your personal experiences, you can show your audience that you are more than just a nameless organization.

4. Use sensory language

Another way to reap the rewards of Instagram captions is to find ways to connect emotionally with your followers, such as using sensory language. An Instagram account must have the appearance and feel of a personal journal, with authentic, moving, and engaging content, in order to successfully appeal to its followers.

Thus, you should write Instagram captions that will enable users to thoroughly immerse themselves in the experience you’re sharing, whether you’re a large corporation or a little business. Using sensory words will allow your content to be experienced through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

The types of senses you should consider and appeal to, include:

Visual: concerned with sight, colour, form, and appearance
Tactile: concerned with touch and abstract conceptions
Smell: concerned with smells and how they affect our emotions
Taste: concerned with the things we can taste and experience
Motion: concerned with movements and how readers experience words
Auditory: concerned with hearing, noises, and even music

5. Utilize hashtags

Lastly, without the appropriate hashtags, Instagram captions are worthless. Hashtags on Instagram, as on most social media platforms, make your content searchable and guarantee that the relevant customers can find you. The simple act of including hashtags in your captions can greatly increase your account reach.

You can add a lot of important Instagram hashtags at the end of your captions, but it’s also worthwhile to think about how you can weave them in naturally with @mentions of relevant people.

Keep in mind that the finest Instagram captions typically include a variety of hashtags. You must choose trending ones that are attractive to your intended audience, but it is also important to consider specialized and more focused hashtags.

By creating your own custom hashtags, you may even entice your followers to participate and post user-generated content in your Instagram comments. A strong brand hashtag will promote your business, especially if you utilize it in conjunction with a contest or giveaway. For instance, you could offer a prize to everyone who shares a photo of themselves using your product with the hashtag associated with your business.

Keep an eye on what’s popular in your market, as well as the hashtags your competitors and brand influencers are using. This can help you if you need more ideas for hashtags to employ.

Make changes to your Instagram captions

It’s simple to ignore captions on a visual social media platform like Instagram. However, if you’re not maximizing your Instagram captions, you can be passing up important opportunities to engage, connect with, and convert clients. Instagram captions can be an essential part of growing and maintaining a business.

Not sending invoices in a timely manner

Not having payment terms

Not specifying payment methods

Not following up on your invoices

Incorrect information

Itemizing