“Your business could be better.”
I know – sounds judge-y, right? The point is, mine could be better, too. The saying is, “If we’re not growing we’re dying,” and I’m a firm believer.
Are you growing?
Certainly there are plenty of areas to scrutinize and even more to applaud in this venture you’re leading … you’re still in business aren’t you? Kudos! I know it isn’t often you get a pat on the back for being open one more day but plenty of companies made the painful decision to close their doors. Those businesses didn’t see the light this morning. So here’s my sincere Congratulations! on surviving another day.
While surviving day to day is a recognizable success, there’s also a genuine desire in each entrepreneur to go beyond surviving and thrive! The passion that got you started is only part of the equation needed to see better days. You still want to be in business in 5, 10, 20 years, and there’s new groundwork to lay.
What questions are you asking yourself? What are you asking your employees? If you’re like me, you’ll want to start with the basics. When I get ahead of myself and start dissecting every aspect of my business at once I feel overwhelmed in a let’s-just-watch-Netflix-all-day kind of way. So here’s a good question to get you started:
I’m new to the area and need to find your business/organization quickly: How do I find you and what will I find?
When was the last time you performed an online search for your own business? Are you out there to be found? Google. Yahoo. Bing. Facebook. Yelp. The list goes on … local online papers, community listings, and tourism sites for your area are utilized daily by your neighbors and friends. Are potential customers, clients, and investors happy with what they find when they look for you?
Everyone can identify with the frustration of finding a business website and spending 20 minutes trying to locate the phone number. Every page of your site should have your contact information easily visible or clearly linked. Even churches! You’d be surprised how many don’t list their Sunday service times on the front page of their website. When I move and need to find a new (fill in the blank) I’m looking to know WHERE and WHAT TIME, not how many awards or programs you have. So get self-searching!
Oh, you already looked?
Great! Did you find your phone number, address, business hours on Google? Yahoo? Bing? If not, fix it FOR FREE. Message me and I’ll show you how. Are you the adventurous type? Click the links below to give it a go on your own. Beware: There is a “free” path on each of the sites I suggest, but you may be strongly encouraged to wander toward their paid services. Please don’t be fooled into thinking you have to pay for advertising. You really can do it for FREE. Do the work yourself and don’t pay a penny. Go ahead, get out there! Get found!
Q the Books 