How to Be a Creative Entrepreneur

How to Be a Creative EntrepreneurThere’s a great line in Alice in Wonderland when the Queen of Hearts says, “Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” I think you’ll agree that this has to be creativity at its best! As a small business owner this is an ideal you really need to strive for…but how on earth can you open up your mind to get to the point where ideas just spill out?

Small business owners are expected to be creative and inventive, otherwise how could they hope to have their business stand out from the crowd and grow? If you have a sneaky feeling that creativity is not one of your strong points, what can you do to stimulate your brain and get it kick-started?

Be Unlimited

Too many people are ‘limited thinkers’. They have their world placed squarely in a box and nothing can exist outside of that. If it’s on the Internet then it must be right. If Joe next door says that something is impossible then he must be right. As a small business owner, you cannot afford to be a ‘limited thinker’. You have to be an ‘unlimited thinker’. Get into the habit of seeing no boundaries; decide that there are no taboos. Have the belief that with a bit of focus you can find a creative solution to all of your problems. This is the foundation for a creative thought process.

Be Future-Focused

Creative ideas invariably come when you ‘look’ into the future. The feeling of propelling yourself forward and seeing the problem solved is a great motivator. Do you think you could achieve the same result if you were backward focused? I don’t think so! Train yourself to be future-focused, always looking ahead, not a traditional thinker who tries to find answers in today’s world.

Be a Writer

Once you open your mind to the joys of creativity the ideas will quickly start flowing, as if someone has opened the flood gates! Just like flood water, unless you catch it the ideas are lost for ever. Capture all your ideas by carrying a small pocket notebook with you. As soon as an idea pops into your mind, write it down. It doesn’t matter how outlandish it is, you can look at it in the cold light of day later on.

The fact that you are responding to the ideas by noting them will further encourage you to be even more creative – good deeds encourage more good deeds!

Be Clutter-Free

If you are naturally an untidy person, then get out of the habit! A cluttered office will lead to a cluttered mind. You cannot expect your brain to work efficiently when all it’s doing is constantly reminding you how untidy your office is. To be creative remove all the clutter from your life and free your mind.

Be Action-Oriented

All of these points are great, but if you don’t take any action with your ideas, then you may as well not have bothered. An idea is nothing but a thought unless you take a specific action to help bring it to life. Periodically review your notebook and see if there are any hidden gems, or ideas which can be quickly actionable. A lot of your ideas may not suit at all but in there somewhere is probably an idea, which if acted upon, could change you or your business. Commit fully to move forward on as many of your ideas as you can.

Don’t be afraid to break down the boundary walls. As John Stuart Mill said, “That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in the next.”

Let me close with one question: Are you as creative as you’d like to be? No? Then get practicing! I’d love to hear from you how your ideas are coming along!

Deidra Miller
Administrative and Customer Relationship Consultant

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What Can Teleseminars Do for You?

What can teleseminars do for you

The practice of sharing with and educating others has been around since the beginning of human social interaction. These days we just have a whole lot more options when it comes to choosing the medium.

With the ready availability of low-cost (or no-cost) conference call lines podcast services and live streaming, instead of spending thousands of dollars traveling to give an in-person presentation, you can meet your customers and prospects from where you are to right where they are, without even having to change out of your pajamas!

Here are a few ways teleseminars can help you grow your business:

Get to know your audience, including in a new market. Being able to interact with your audience in real time allows an unprecedented level of market research, right in the moment, so you get to know more about your market.

Answer questions about your area of expertise. Explain how your product or service works.

Interview experts and share their knowledge with your audience. If you interview experts in your area, you will not only help provide others’ valuable content, you will also be seen as an expert by association.

Sell more. By presenting a sales presentation over the phone, you offer much more interactivity and a stronger personal connection than you can through a website or direct mail piece.

Create products. The calls themselves can be turned into products or classes. You can sell access to your live events, or you can record them and sell them later as CDs or audio downloads. And that’s just for starters.

Build your list. It’s easy to invite people to your free events — and as they sign up, they become part of your list.

Create trust. Trust is crucial for business success. And one of the best ways to build trust with your audience is to interact with them directly. As they hear your voice live on the call — and as they ask questions and get answers right then and there — you become “real” to them and they’ll be able to bond with you. This is something that’s much harder to accomplish through sales letters and emails.

[tweetthis]With teleseminars, you can meet your customers and prospects from where you are to right where they are. Here are a few ways teleseminars can help you grow your business[/tweetthis]

But what about skills? Don’t you have to have some kind of “chops” to host a teleseminar? Stop wondering! If you have enough experience to start a business, you have enough experience to produce and host a teleseminar!

What other ways have you found that hosting online has helped your business?

Deidra Miller
Customer Relationship and Administrative Consultant

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The Power of Gratitude

Practice gratitude

The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness has been in the mainstream for years. Long-term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, a higher sense of well-being, and a faster rate of recovery from surgery.

But while we may acknowledge gratitude’s many benefits, it still can be difficult to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives. And for gratitude to meet its full healing potential in our lives, it needs to become more than just a Thanksgiving word. We have to learn a new way of looking at things, a new habit. And that can take some time.

That’s why practicing gratitude makes so much sense. When we practice giving thanks for all we have, instead of complaining about what we lack, we give ourselves the chance to see all of life as an opportunity and a blessing.

Remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more a matter of where we put our focus and attention. Pain and injustice exist in this world, but when we focus on the gifts of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and gives us hope.

There are many things to be grateful for: colorful autumn leaves, legs that work, friends who listen and really hear, chocolate, fresh eggs, warm jackets, tomatoes, the ability to read, roses, our health, butterflies.

Your turn: What’s on your list?

Some Ways to Practice Gratitude

  • Keep a gratitude journal in which you list things for which you are thankful. You can make daily, weekly or monthly lists. Greater frequency may be better for creating a new habit, but just keeping that journal where you can see it will remind you to think in a grateful way.
  • Make a gratitude collage by drawing or pasting pictures.
  • Practice gratitude around the dinner table or make it part of your nighttime routine.
  • Make a game of finding the hidden blessing in a challenging situation.
  • When you feel like complaining, make a gratitude list instead. You may be amazed by how much better you feel.
  • Notice how gratitude is impacting your life. Write about it, sing about it, express thanks for gratitude.

[tweetthis]Practice gratitude as a tool for happiness. Long-term studies support that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in work, greater health, peak performance in sports and business, and a higher sense of well-being.[/tweetthis]

As you practice, an inner shift begins to occur, and you may be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. That sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work.

Deidra Miller
Administrative and Client Relationship Consultant

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5 Tips to Get Website Traffic Fast!

Drive traffic to website

One of the most significant keys to the success of your business is getting traffic to your website. The more visitors you have, the better you can help others and increase revenue.

Here are five quick and easy tips to get website traffic fast!

Tip #1: Make sure to create tags with your keywords

Do you spend a lot of time optimizing your content and then neglect to create tags on your webpage? Tags are where search engines look and if there are no tags they’ll pass right by your web pages. There are a number of tag types including:

  • Title tags. Title tags are quite possibly the most important place to situate your keywords. Your title tag is where you place your primary keyword or keyword phrase. The sentence will describe your business in less than 90 characters.
  • Header Tags. Header tags are next in order of importance to search engines. They’re ranked in order of importance. Header tags are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc., 1 being the most important header on the page.
  • Meta Tags. Meta tags provide the small descriptive text found underneath the title tag on the search engine results page. Like title tags, these should be kept brief, informative and up to date.
  • Alt Tags. Alt tags are used to provide a text description of a graphic. Each graphic on your site should have a description and an alt tag.

Tip #2: Add valuable content to your site regularly

Content is essential for traffic and top search engine ranking. Content is what search engine spiders look for and index – without it there’s nothing to index or rank. Give visitors and search engines a reason to visit and index your site. Make a commitment to provide regular, optimized content and your traffic will soar.

Tip #3: Procure valuable and relevant incoming links

The more websites which link to yours the more valuable search engines perceive you to be, though not all links are created equal. Search engines give more leverage to links from sites which are popular and reputable, and from sites which are relevant to your topic.

You can encourage linking to your website by:

  • Adding content to your site.
  • Submitting to article directories.
  • Publishing press releases.
  • Blogging and participating in social networking forums, chat rooms and social networking sites.

Tip #4: Be social

Whether you offer a forum on your website or you participate in social networking sites, social networking is a valuable traffic generating tactic. Social media sites can be powerful tools for generating links and traffic to your site. Create a profile and then post comments, links to your site and ideas which generate conversation. It’s all about building a community.

Get involved – many chat rooms and forums are industry specific, find those which cater to your industry, and begin participating. Speak to and connect with a highly targeted audience.

Tip #5: Advertise for more exposure and traffic

Advertising, when handled strategically, can be used to promote your content and products or services. PPC advertising is often the tool of choice because you control the advertising budget on a daily basis and have the tools to test and track your advertising efforts. Once you’ve honed your PPC ads the return on investment can be phenomenal in terms of traffic and purchases.

[tweetthis]Getting traffic to your website is one key to the success of your business. Here are 5 tips to get traffic to your website fast![/tweetthis]

 

For maximum results, create a traffic and SEO strategy. Outline your plan and your goals and then take the necessary action. Take advantage of these five traffic and search engine tips to boost your business.

Your turn: What are other ways you encourage traffic to your site?

Deidra Miller
Administrative and Customer Service Consultant

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Need a Boost in Your Motivation? Networking Is a Great Motivator for Entrepreneurs

Networking Motivation

As an entrepreneur, networking, both online and off, is a wonderful way to build connections in your industry. It’s a great way to increase awareness for your business and to build your customer base and ultimately your profits. But you probably know that already. What you may not know is networking is also a great way to motivate yourself.

Here are five reasons why networking is such a great motivator:

1. Networking exposes you to other business leaders, entrepreneurs and motivated individuals.
Even if you don’t have a single competitive bone in your body, when you network online and offline, you’re going to be inspired by the energy, ideas and productivity you see in those around you. It gives you the unique ability to mingle with like-minded individuals who may have a different perspective, a different experience or a different story than you do.

2. Networking forces you to stay on your game.
When you put forth the effort to network, you’re going to have to be at your best. When you communicate with people, you want to put your best foot forward and make a positive impression. When people ask you what you do, you want to be ready, willing and able to give them an informational and inspirational elevator pitch. Because you just never know when you’re going to meet your next great business partner, a superior customer or an enthusiastic advocate of your business.

3. Networking motivates you to be prepared before you head to the event.
It forces you to think about your business, where it’s going, what your future plans are, and how you want to be perceived.

4. Networking is a great place to get inspired by other successful people.
We see them and think, “If they can do that, so can I.” We hear great ideas, product launches, marketing tactics and business strategies and we think, “I can do that!” Competition is very motivating!

5. Finally, networking both online and off makes us feel and act more professionally.
The simple act of being a professional makes us feel more professional. We start to feel less like a person who works at home in their pajamas and more like a business person, an entrepreneur, a CEO.

[tweetthis]Need a boost in your #motivation? #Networking Is a great motivator for #entrepreneurs[/tweetthis]


Your turn! What are other ways you find that networking helps you in your motivation and your business growth?

Deidra Miller
Administrative and Customer Service Consultant

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How to Create Content That’s Magic!

Create content that's magic

So what is magic content?

It means valuable content that speaks to your audience, lets them know you understand their problems, and provides a clear solution. Creating magic content is an important part of your business. What you say and when you communicate are important for building your brand.

Your visitors and email recipients will then want to keep returning to your site and look forward to your future emails, as well as refer their friends to your site.

How do you find the solutions to the problems being discussed online?

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5 Social Media Tactics to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Social Media Tactics to Drive Traffic to Website

Social media is a fantastic tool to help start conversations with prospects and customers. However, if those customers don’t transition to your website, how are they going to learn more about you and how you can help them?

Here are a few tweaks to your social media strategy that may help you gain the traffic you desire. Continue reading

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5 Customer Service Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Make – and How to Avoid Them!

Customer ServiceI like to say that great customer service is like the wings of a plane – you’re not going to get your business off the ground without it! Here are five mistakes that many entrepreneurs make in their customer service strategy without even realizing it that may be holding their business growth back. And I give specific actionable steps and techniques you can use to avoid those mistakes. Continue reading

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Add Value to Stand Out from the Crowd!

Stand Out from the Crowd

Want to stand out from your competitors? Adding value is one of the most overlooked and underrated strategies for showing people your expertise and how you can help them. Offer that little something extra that nobody else does. Continue reading

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